Evaluating the Outcomes for Bereaved People Supported by a Community-Based Suicide Bereavement Service.

Postvention services aim to support people bereaved by suicide and reduce the adverse impacts associated with suicide bereavement. StandBy Support After Suicide is a community-based suicide bereavement service that provides support and a coordinated response for people bereaved by suicide. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the StandBy service in reducing suicidality, grief reactions associated with suicide bereavement, and social isolation among clients. A retrospective cross-sectional design using an online survey was used to compare StandBy clients with people bereaved by suicide who did not access the StandBy service. Among people whose most recent loss to suicide was within the past 12 months, people supported by StandBy were significantly less likely to be at risk of suicidality, experience a loss of social support, and experience social loneliness compared with people bereaved by suicide who had not accessed the StandBy service. Owing to the use of a cross-sectional design, it was not possible to determine changes over time. Postvention in the form of a community-based crisis intervention, at the time of or close to a suicide, is effective in reducing adverse outcomes associated with suicide bereavement, and an important aspect of suicide prevention.