Congratulations to The Kids Research Institute Australia researcher Dr Nicole Hill, who has been honoured at this year’s prestigious 40under40 Awards for her outstanding contributions to suicide prevention research in Australia.
Dr Hill, who is supported by the Forrest Foundation as a Forrest Research Foundation Prospect Fellow with the Youth Mental Health team at The Kids, was named a 40under40 winner in the Community, Social Enterprise, or Not-for-Profit category.
The annual 40Under40 Awards, run by Business News, are designed to acknowledge the future leaders of Western Australia, each year celebrating 40 outstanding young WA businessmen and women.
Dr Hill – recognised as a national leader in research in youth suicide prevention– is passionate about preventing self-harm and suicide in young people, and about improving equal access to mental health services among all Australians.
Among other world-first outcomes, her research has provided evidence for the existence of suicide clusters and suicide contagion, shifting the suicide prevention field away from questioning whether these exist, towards how to respond to and prevent them.
In one of Dr Hill’s upcoming projects – part of a wider ongoing project to improve access to health care services – she will use hospital and coronial suicide data to identify mental health ‘hotspots’ in WA, then work with communities to tailor solutions to help improve youth mental health and wellbeing.
In order to further this work, the Community Strengths in Suicide Prevention Project will be supported by newly announced Principal Partners, Mineral Resources.
Mineral Resources Corporate Psychologist and Head of Mental Health, Chris Harris, said adolescence was a time when signs of mental health issues may start to appear – making early intervention and access to support particularly important for young people.
“We know that some communities have higher rates of suicide and poor mental health outcomes, and that they’re in urgent need of better services,” Mr Harris said. “We’re proud to support this valuable project, which will identify where support services are needed and drive long-term, sustainable changes.
We’re thrilled, too, to see Dr Hill’s outstanding research recognised by this latest award. Congratulations to her – we are excited to work with her as she continues this important work.
Learnings from the Community Strengths in Suicide Prevention project will be applied across WA, with The Kids Research Institute Australia and Mineral Resources set to work together to implement short and long-term support for vulnerable young people.
The Kids Research Institute Australia Director, Professor Jonathan Carapetis, described Dr Hill as a rising star who brought an outstanding level of excellence to everything she did.
“Although still early in her career, Nicole is already making a profound contribution not just to our understanding of suicide and how to prevent young lives being lost to suicide, but also to the way those affected by suicide are supported,” Professor Carapetis said.
“The importance of this work cannot be overstated. Congratulations Nicole.”
If this story has raised concerns for you or a loved one, you can contact one of the below services for help.
- Lifeline: 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au
- Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 or beyondblue.org.au
- Beyond Blue's coronavirus support service: 1800 512 348 or coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au
- Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 or kidshelpline.com.au
- Headspace: 1800 650 890 or headspace.org.au