Evaluation strategy for Finland's suicide prevention project.

Finland's suicide prevention project (1987-1996) has proceeded to its final phase, evaluation. In this article the general structure of the evaluation and the strategy for evaluating the implementation phase (1992-1996) are presented. The evaluation aims to look at the success of the project in its target areas and the critical factors involved. It deals with the intervention strategies evolved, as well as indicators of progress in suicide prevention activities. A process evaluation approach is used to evaluate the national strategy and the project. The first follow-up (1993) and preliminary results from the ongoing evaluation (1996) show that the project is being largely successful in meeting the operative challenges formulated in the national strategy.