News & Events
World Suicide Prevention Day 2025
“Changing the Narrative on Suicide”
On this World Suicide Prevention Day, the European Commission funded PROSPERH project, Promoting Mental and Physical Health and Wellbeing in the Workforce, is proud to stand with global partners in recognising the urgent need for proactive, upstream approaches to suicide prevention.
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This year’s World Suicide Prevention Day theme, “Changing the Narrative on Suicide,” underscores the importance of support systems and tangible tools that can transform mental health outcomes across diverse workplaces, and calls for a shift from silence and stigma to openness, empathy, and action. It encourages individuals, communities, and workplaces to start the conversation, challenge misconceptions, and build supportive environments. Changing the narrative also means driving systemic change, advocating for mental health policies, expanding access to care, and investing in research to better understand and prevent suicide.
PROSPERH funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe Programme, is developing an innovative digital application designed to empower individuals, peers, and organisations to monitor and strengthen both mental and physical health in the workplace. The application specifically targets high-risk sectors including construction, healthcare, and remote-working environments, fields where occupational stress, isolation, and mental health challenges are common but too often overlooked.
Professor Ella Arensman, Head of School of Public Health University College Cork and Chief Scientist, National Suicide Research Foundation, Coordinator of the PROSPERH project. “We know that suicide prevention must begin long before someone reaches a point of crisis. By equipping workplaces with the right knowledge and tools, we can reduce risk and foster environments where wellbeing is prioritised, help-seeking is encouraged, and resilience is strengthened.”
PROSPERH Co-Lead, Dr Eve Griffin, Chief Executive Officer, National Suicide Research Foundation and Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health, University College Cork, states “Income and social protection, unemployment and work-related factors are the strongest determinants of suicide. By focusing on upstream approaches to suicide prevention, we can improve early intervention and the detection of modifiable risk factors which can lead to long term benefits for communities and mental health systems. For policy makers and funding bodies, projects such as PROSPERH offer a cost-effective pathway to healthier, resilient communities.”
The PROSPERH digital platform integrates research-driven tools, including psychoeducational resources, self-assessment features, and guidance for organisational best practices to support employee physical and mental health. Crucially, this resource addresses mental health stigma and builds digital pathways for early intervention in mental distress, supporting those at risk of suicide and creating safety nets within the working environment.
PROSPERH Principal Investigator in Germany, Professor Dr Ulrich Hegerl, President of the European Alliance Against Depression (EAAD), added: “Too often, colleagues and supervisors lack the knowledge and skills needed to appropriately communicate with individuals showing signs of mental distress in the workplace. With PROSPERH, we are improving mental health literacy and reducing stigma - key factors in facilitating and shortening the way to professional treatment for those affected by mental illnesses. This represents a crucial step forward in reducing suicide risk and closing treatment gaps related to depression and other mental health conditions across Europe.”
World Suicide Prevention Day 2025 is a reminder that suicide is preventable when appropriate supports are in place, and workplaces can play a pivotal role. With suicide still among the leading causes of death worldwide, PROSPERH reaffirms its commitment to mental health advocacy, innovation, and collaboration in building safer, more supportive work environments across Europe.
To learn more about PROSPERH, visit www.prosperh.eu
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Health and Digital Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. UK participants in Horizon Europe Project PROSPERH are supported by UKRI grant numbers 10101188 for St Marys University and 10109311 for University of Stirling. Australian participant Griffith University is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council.