App to help curb youth suicide

Australian researchers are developing a smartphone app to stop the escalating rate of indigenous youth suicide.

The app will facilitate referral of the young person to local liaison officers and other government or non-government support agencies.

"We will design, develop and distribute an Apple iPhone and Android smartphone app through iTunes and Google's android market to support the implementation of the gatekeeper training," Maree Toombs, a researcher from the University of Queensland's school of medicine, was quoted as saying.

A community led training programme linking health providers, community members, peers, school leaders and mentors as gatekeepers will run along side the app, Brisbane Times reported.

A gatekeeper is anyone within a community who is in a position to recognise the warning signs that someone may be contemplating suicide.

"Gatekeepers and a smartphone app are the keys to tackling indigenous youth suicide by providing accessible help to the at-risk youth," Toombs added.