SEYMOUR: Tackling youth suicide with a novel system dynamics modelling approach
Dr Michail was awarded a three-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Global Fellowship to explore how systems modelling and simulation can inform strategic decision making for suicide prevention in young people aged 12-25 in Australia and the UK. Maria is currently working with Orygen, Melbourne; the world’s largest translational research institute in youth mental health and suicide prevention, where she will spend the first two years of her fellowship. There, she is embedded in the Suicide Prevention Unit led by Professor Jo Robinson. During her time with Orygen, Maria will develop and evaluate a computer simulation model of mental health service pathways and suicidal behaviour among young people in North-West Melbourne. This will be done through co-production workshops with young people with lived experience of self-harm/suicidal behaviour, carers, clinicians, policy makers and commissioners. Maria will also carry out a research visit at the Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney where she will work in collaboration with Associate Professor Jo-An Occhipinti, Head of Systems Modelling, Simulation & Data Science. Maria will return to the University of Birmingham for the third year, working with Professor Waring (Health Services Management Centre), a world-leading expert in implementation of healthcare.