Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41692711›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2026

Developing guidelines for supporting employees disclosing suicidal distress while working: a Delphi expert consensus study.

Martina Odette McGrath, Angela Nicholas, Anna Ross, Karolina Krysinska, Karl Andriessen, Nicola Reavley, Bronwen Edwards, Nicholas Hill, Carmen Betterridge, Jane Pirkis

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Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Martina Odette McGrathCentre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. martina.mcgrath@student.unimelb.edu.au.
Angela NicholasCentre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Anna RossCentre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Karolina KrysinskaCentre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Karl AndriessenCentre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Nicola ReavleyCentre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Bronwen EdwardsRoses in the Ocean, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Nicholas HillSchool of Social and Political Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Carmen BetterridgeNorthern Sydney Local Health District, New South Wales Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Jane PirkisCentre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.

Funding

University of Melbourne Fay Marles Scholarship (722776)
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWork plays an important role in supporting employees to enjoy mental wellbeing and a sense of purpose and meaning while contributing to productive workplaces. However, some employees experience suicidal distress while working. When disclosing suicidal distress to seek and receive help, employees may face barriers in receiving compassionate and supportive responses. Integrated workplace mental health approaches emphasise protecting and promoting good mental health by addressing workplace factors. This study aimed to develop best practice guidelines to assist workplaces (e.g., employers, managers, human resources and work health and safety staff) to support employees who disclose suicidal distress while working.

methodsThe Delphi expert consensus method was used to develop best practice guidelines inclusive of necessary actions to support employees experiencing suicidal distress while working. We conducted systematic searches of scientific and grey literature and combined these with statements extracted from a recent qualitative study to form a questionnaire. We recruited participants onto two expert panels (employees with lived experiences of suicidal distress (n = 24) and professionals (n = 21) who rated the importance of 185 statements across three questionnaire rounds. Statements that were endorsed by at least 80% of both panels were included in the guidelines.

resultsThe two expert panels endorsed 141 out of the 185 statements, spanning six thematic sections from workplace systems through to employee responsibilities. There were consistently high levels of agreement between and within the two panels relating to culture and leadership and psychosocial safety actions. Areas of disagreement between the two panels related to statements in Sect. 1 - Workplace systems (co-design) and Sect. 4 - Education and training (employee training).

conclusionsBy using the Delphi approach, we have developed a novel set of best practice guidelines to assist workplaces (e.g., employers, managers, and human resources and work health and safety staff) to implement actions to support employees disclosing suicidal distress while working. As next steps, we recommend evaluating the feasibility of implementing the guidelines across a range of settings, occupations and industries, including in workplaces that vary in size and with employees with a range of intersecting concealable identities, including experiencing suicidal distress.

Indexed as

Practice Guidelines as TopicPsychological DistressWorkplaceAdultConsensusDelphi TechniqueFemaleHumansMaleSurveys and QuestionnairesWorking ConditionsDelphiGuidelinesSuicidal distressSuicideWorkplace

Identifiers

PMID41692711
PMCPMC13014722

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.