Project Committee meeting-4

Minutes of SUPREME AIM project Committee skype meeting.

Data: 06 JAN 2020 (9 p.m. LT time, 8 p.m. NO time).

Participated: Vygintas Grinis (Kaunas RC), Georg B. Jenssen (Gjovik RC), Bodil Hagen Saegrov (Gjovik RC), psychologist Dr. Said Dadašev, psychologist Kristina Mozuraitytė.

Agenda:

1. Status on project. What is completed and what is still to do ?
2. Budget status. Will we able to complete project on funds available ?
3. Progress on psychological support/capacity in Municipalities. Influence from project?
4. Status on support activities from project to Municipalities.
5. Status on suicide rate results in Municipalities. What do we have of indications from the Municipalities so far?
6. Is an evaluation of the project planned at the end of the project?
7. Have the project had influence on national schedules for suicide prevention.
8. Is there acceptance of suicide prevention model with its algorithms as a national way of working?
9. Gjøvik Rotary club visit to Anyksciai Rotary club 5-6th June this year.  A meeting between the project, the clubs and the Anyksciai municipality should be arranged. Purpose – to evaluate the projects results in Anyksciai.

Results:

1. Vygintas viewed all activities going through budget lines. Already completed tasks: Development of suicide prevention model completed in municipalities of Akmene, Anyksciai, Kupiskis, Panevezys district, Pasvalys, Silute, Ukmerge, Vilkaviskis. Municipalities of Druskininkai, Marijampole, Taurage still working on algorithms– It will be done during next 2-3 months. 3. Training of members (“gate keepers“) of selected target groups in Municipalities (1370 persons trained, each participant received 8 hours certificate “Suicide Risk Assessment and First Psychological Assistance” issued by the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Department of Health Psychology).  7. Volunteer (RAGMHI vice chair Dr. Geetha Jayaram from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA) visit to help implement the project was realized in SEP 2018. 9. Created project website www.supremeaim.rotary.lt used since SEP 2018. Ongoing activities:  1. Monitoring and evaluation of the project (Kristina explained results and plans, see minutes p.6). 4. Supervisions for professionals involved in suicide prevention model of municipality (next planned on 6-7 FEB 2020 3 groups in Panevezys district, 13-14 FEB 2020 3 groups in Pasvalys, 21 FEB 2020 1 group in Marijampole, during March-April supervisions will be continued in Marijampole and Druskininkai, Taurage, Vilkaviskis). 6. Enhancing accessibility of personal psychological help (117 persons being in risk already was consulted in Kupiskis and Ukmerge municipalities).  8. Health focused event (2 events took part on 10 OCT 2018 and 26 SEP 2019 in cooperation with Kaunas City municipality Public Health Bureau and Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. Incoming Congress “Experience Without Borders” organized by Lithuanian Psychological Association (the biggest psychologist’s association in Lithuania, uniting more than 600 individual members, including psychologists working in state institutions, in private practice or academic field) will take place on 24-25 APR 2020 in Kaunas. Results of the project SUPREME AIM will be presented in this Congress. 10. Project and Website content management. Project is managed by Vygintas, Website content by Gaila Matulytė, who a year ago became advisor to Minister of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania, are done constantly during execution of the project.
2. Vygintas reported that budget content was distributed to all members of the Committee on 16 DEC 2019. Any more spending until today was happen. There are savings in budget lines 3. Training, Travel and accommodations of suppliers and little overshoot in 7. Volunteer visit, but in general budget is under control and allow to complete all tasks of the project on funds available.
3. Psychologist Valija Sap reported after skype meeting about Influence next opinion. When the suicide threat response system is in place, then demand for psychological services increases usually 3-4 times. Psychologists working in the territory of municipality cannot provide timely help to clients, who are at risk of suicide, therefore requiring additional psychologist resources. Also, psychologists working in institutions do not offer pro-suicide help to relatives of suicides or in cases with attempts, which is important help. Due to the prevailing stigmas and fears, some clients at risk of suicide do not seek medical help and are unable to pay for private psychologist services. Thus, the funding of the psychologist’s services during this project ensures the solution of the above-mentioned problems.
4. Said reported about support activities. There is a good feedback from the municipalities, those coordinating suicide prevention in the municipalities positively evaluate project activities, which has been done: trainings, which helped to improve competencies of those who provide help; developing suicide prevention algorithms; supervisions, which help to support specialists, working closely with those currently in suicide risk. It could be mentioned that developing suicide prevention algorithms usually is an ongoing task because of the complexity of this activity and because every municipality is unique, but so far it is very meaningful task which usually brings community together, which is also important.
5. Vygintas reported about official statistical data collected from each Lithuanian municipality during 2011-2018. Stressed, that after 1’st year of project execution (AUG 2019) 5 municipalities from 11 participating in project reported decrease in cases, that is one of the targeted measuring successes of the project – number of communities reporting decrease in cases of deceases targeted (target: 1-19). He also mentioned about others targeted measuring successes: number of medical and health professionals trained (reported 1370, target 100-499); Number of recipients of disease prevention intervention (reported 41, target 100-499); Number of health focused events (reported 150, target 100-499). Said explained how statistical data are collected in Lithuania and why we have delay of 1 year from state institutions and if we always have a real statistical data.
6. Kristina presented what was evaluated and what will be done. Research report and conclusions of the Evaluation of Suicide Prevention Training Effectiveness in Lithuanian Municipalities (in Lithuanian) was already presented on 12 MAY 2019. Together with colleague Egle Rekasiute they have started second half of the project evaluation process. Currently they are conducting a qualitative study to explore faced challenges and emerging needs of crisis teams after suicide prevention training, as well as looking at the process of how implemented suicide prevention algorithms went. This is done by interviewing representatives from 9 municipalities that had trainings on suicide prevention. At the moment they are collecting data and have talked with half of the municipalities involved.
7. Yes, it has. Firstly, the activities which were supported in this project had a positive feedback and evaluation from those who benefited from the activities, thus this experience was constantly shared with others. Secondly, lectors of this project were frequently invited by specialists from the Lithuanian Ministry of Health as an experts in suicide prevention field, therefore there were opportunities to share this experience with policy makers, Said reported.
8. Previously there were quite a lot of challenges, but recently there is a growing support that there should be national guidelines together with local models of suicide prevention in every municipality. There is a common understanding that national guidelines and local algorithms should go hand in hand in order to prevent suicides more effectively, Said reported.
9. Georg reported about incoming visit of Gjovik RC members to Anyksciai on 5-6 JUN 2020 and proposed to organize meeting with new mayor of Anyksciai district municipality. Vygintas approved that he will join the meeting and will ask psychologist Valija Sap, who was elected as a chairman of Lithuanian Psychological Association last year, to be present as well. Georg and Bodil will come with the delegation as well. Kestutis Jacunskas will be responsible to organize meeting in Anyksciai district municipality with Authorities.