New Zealand Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy Evaluation Phase One and Phase Two
The NZYSPS is a vital reference tool for people working in the field of youth suicide prevention, as it identifies best-practice principles and provides consistent advice. Five years into the implementation of the Strategy, policy officials and Government Ministers agreed to an evaluation of its effectiveness.
Phase One
Phase one of the evaluation is a qualitative study of key stakeholders from government and non-government agencies. The stakeholders were selected because they had either been involved in the Strategy’s development, had high-level influence on its implementation, or were representatives of key organisations expected to respond to it.
The primary focus of this evaluation is to:
- determine outcomes for evaluating the Strategy
- outline how implementation of the Strategy has occurred
- present stakeholders’ perceptions of the Strategy’s impact and usefulness.
This evaluation report formed the basis of the scoping process for the second phase of evaluation.
Phase Two
In response to the findings from the Phase One Evaluation, the primary goal of the Phase Two Evaluation was to inform the Ministry of Youth Development’s implementation and communication strategies for the NZYSPS.
Phase Two involved potential end-users of the NZYSPS as the primary informants, from community and professional organisations who work with youth.
The objectives of this phase of the evaluation included identifying:
- how the NZYSPS is being used
- factors that enhance or limit knowledge about and use of the NZYSPS
- key lessons to inform implementation plans and the communications strategy for the NZYSPS.
