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Profile_GabrielleJenkinBA (Sociology) DPH (Dist) MPH (Dist) PhD

Research Associate Professor, Suicide and Mental Health Research Group

Contact details

Email gabrielle.jenkin@otago.ac.nz

PhD Supervision

Current PhD students

  • Anna von Tunzelmann – Is some binge-drinking a form of deliberate self-harm?
  • Angie Hoskin –  Effect of the menstrual cycle on suicide and suicidal behaviours

Completed PhD Students

  • Renan De Lyra Lopes De Lyra – Impact of suicides on clinicians and first responders
  • Julie Artus – Adolescent acute mental health services in NZ
  • Rowan Magill – The Taranaki Retreat: An alternative response to suicidality and distress?
  • Tess Soulie – Clinician treatment of suicidal patients
  • Sarah McKenzie – Masculinities and men's mental health

Research interests and activities

I am a social scientist with training in epidemiology and public health, I have undertaken quantitative and qualitative health research in many areas of public health. My current focus is on suicide, mental health and acute mental health services and I supervise a number of PhD students in these areas.

Completed projects

Calculating the suicide rate for the New Zealand construction industry (2020-2021)

Research Associate Professor Gabrielle Jenkin, June Atkinson

This study, funded by BRANZ and NZ MATES in Construction, calculated rates of suicide and described key characteristics of suicides by those working in the New Zealand construction industry, drawing on data from the National Coronial Information System ( NCIS ), coronial data and the New Zealand Census.

Targeted suicide prevention report (PDF)
Executive summary report (PDF)
MATES releases new research

Acute Mental Health Facility Design: the NZ experience (2017–2020)

Research Associate Professor Gabrielle Jenkin, Dr Susanna Every-Palmer, Dr Debbie Peterson, Chris Watson, Dr Evangelia Chrysikou, Professor Sunny Collings

Funded by the Marsden Fund, this multi-disciplinary research examined architects’ plans, briefs, literature and collected new data via photographs and 97 in-depth interviews with staff, visiting family members and mental health consumers resident in four acute mental health facilities to understand the architectural design, therapeutic philosophy and social regime of the acute mental health facilities in New Zealand.

The research led to a collaboration that produced the first ever training of student architects in mental health facility design by Jacqueline McIntosh at Victoria University of Wellington.
https://people.wgtn.ac.nz/jacqueline.mcintosh

Ten research papers from this work are available here:
https://theconversation.com/mental-blocks-how-better-design-of-acute-mental-health-units-could-aid-recovery-196722

A series published by news and current affairs website Newsroom highlights the findings of this project:
Shining a light on the shocking state of NZ's acute mental health units

Marsden Fund

Suicide inquests: interviews with NZ Coroners (2016)

Research Associate Professor Gabrielle Jenkin and Professor Sunny Collings

Little was known about the perspectives, experiences and decision-making processes of New Zealand coroners as they go about their business of investigating deaths by suicide and making recommendations. This study, based on interviews with 14 coroners, explored how suicide inquests are conducted in New Zealand, what factors influenced their decision-making and recommendations and, coroners' perspectives on suicide. This research was funded by a University of Otago Research Grant.

The effects of change in coronial attitude and practice on suicide news reporting in NZ (2014)

Research Associate Professor Gabrielle Jenkin, Principal Investigator, and Professor Sunny Collings

The portrayal of suicide in the media is known to have an influence on suicide rates. Because of this, there are best practice guidelines restricting aspects of suicide reporting by the media. However, in August of 2010, the Chief Coroner suggested that there was a need to 'open up' the issue of suicide. This comment led to a controversial debate over the reporting of suicide in the media. This research investigated this debate and assessed its impact on the reporting of suicide by the New Zealand news media. This research was funded by a University of Otago Research Grant.

See: Collings, S., Slim, B., Stanley, J., & Jenkin, G. (2018). Suicide reports in the news: Impact of Chief Coroner's call to open up suicide reporting. Kōtuitui, 13(2), 285-292. doi: 10.1080/1177083X.2018.1478862

Jenkin, G. L. S., Slim, B. E., & Collings, S. (2020). News media coverage of stakeholder views on suicide and its reporting in New Zealand. Crisis, 41(4), 248-254. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000629

Suicide Mortality Review Feasibility Study (2015)

Professor Sunny Collings, Research Associate Professor Gabrielle Jenkin, Dr Sarah McKenzie, Dr Debbie Peterson, June Atkinson

The research funded by the Health Quality Safety Commission / Ministry of Health analysed data from 16 government agencies and the Census on 2000 people who had died by suicide in New Zealand. It provided the evidence for the utility of a setting up the Suicide Mortality Review Committee, for which funding was approved by the Ministry of Health in 2017.

Ngā Rāhui Hau Kura (Suicide Mortality Review Committee Feasibility Study 2014–15

Understanding the mental health of sole parents

Professor Sunny Collings, Principal Investigator, Research Associate Professor Gabrielle Jenkin, Dr Louise Signal and Dr Kristie Carter

This research untangled these associations between mental health, employment and sole parent status using cross-sectional data from the Survey of Families, Income and Employment (SoFIE). This research was funded by a University of Otago Research Grant.

See: Collings S, Jenkin G, Carter K, Signal L. (2013). Gender differences in the mental health of single parents: New Zealand evidence from a household panel survey. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology: 1-11.

Multi-level Intervention for Suicide Prevention in New Zealand (MISP-NZ): Process Evaluation

The Multi-level Intervention for Suicide Prevention in New Zealand (MISP-NZ) was a 30-month intervention package designed for and implemented in eight DHB regions between 2010 and 2012.

See: Collings, S., Jenkin, G., Stanley, J., McKenzie, S., & Hatcher, S. (2018). Preventing suicidal behaviours with a multilevel intervention: A cluster randomised controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 18, 140. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5032-6

Publications

Hoskin, A., McKenzie, S. K., Cooney, E. B., & Jenkin, G. (2024). Should menstrual cycle data be collected during suspected suicide autopsies? [Research letter]. New Zealand Medical Journal/Te ara tika o te hauora hapori, 137(1592), 113-115. Retrieved from https://www.nzmj.org.nz/ Journal - Research Other

Aspin, C., Ormerod, F. B., Bittar, A., Schimanski, I., & Jenkin, G. (2023). Engaging with whānau to improve coronial investigations into rangatahi suicide. Kōtuitui. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/1177083X.2023.2270007 Journal - Research Article

Lian, A., Carr, G., Peterson, D., Jenkin, G., Lockett, H., Every-Palmer, S., & Cunningham, R. (2023). Still in the shadows: A national study of acute mental health unit location across New Zealand hospitals. BMC Health Services Research, 23, 21. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-09004-z Journal - Research Article

Cooper, A., Jenkin, G., Morton, E., Peterson, D., & McKenzie, S. K. (2023). ‘We have to band together’: Service user experiences of naturally occurring peer support on the acute mental health unit. Kōtuitui, 18(2), 118-134. doi: 10.1080/1177083X.2022.2093230 Journal - Research Article

Magill, R., Collings, S., & Jenkin, G. (2023). The provision of comprehensive crisis intervention by a charitable organisation: Findings from a realist evaluation. Voluntary Sector Review, 14(1), 43-61. doi: 10.1332/204080521X16346520274134 Journal - Research Article

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