{
  "abstract": "Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic led to major disruptions in society across many spheres, including healthcare, the economy and social behaviours. While early predictions warned of an increased risk of suicide during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of suicide deaths remained stable or decreased over that period for most countries. In contrast, the prevalence of suicidal ideation doubled and suicide attempts slightly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in the adult general population worldwide, accompanied by a higher prevalence of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders. While these data can tell us what happened, they cannot tell us why. Qualitative suicide research seeks to understand experiences of individuals with suicide-related thoughts and behaviours, provides an in-depth exploration of their lives and interactions with others and centres their views and unique context. There is little qualitative research focusing on suicidality during the pandemic. This study will use a qualitative approach to explore the extent and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Canadians who experienced suicidality and review their experiences of accessing mental healthcare to identify key components in supporting safety and recovery.Methods and analysis This study will involve approximately 100 semistructured interviews with participants across four Canadian provinces and will explore experiences with suicide-related thoughts and behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. Transcripts will be analysed through qualitative analysis informed by constructivist grounded theory.Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by the Research Ethics Board of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto Academic Health Sciences Network (for JZ: CAMH REB No 104-2022). In addition to traditional peer-reviewed presentations and publications, a report will make study findings accessible to policy makers, media and the public.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Paria Baharikhoob"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Elisa Hollenberg"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Ari B Cuperfain"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Faculty of Health Sciences, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada",
        "Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, Whitby, Ontario, Canada",
        "Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Mental Health and Addictions Research Program, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "David Rudoler"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Gina Nicoll"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Daniel Blumberger"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "James Bolton"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Psychiatry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada",
        "Reproductive Mental Health Program, BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Gabrielle Bosse Chartier"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Allison Crawford"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Zainab Furqan"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Amy Gajaria"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "David Gratzer"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Psychiatry, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Simon Hatcher"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Muhammad Ishrat Husain"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Paul Kurdyak"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "June Sing Hong Lam"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Family Medicine, Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "M Ruth Lavergne"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Family Medicine, Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Emily Gard Marshall"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Benoit Mulsant"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Nadine Reid"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Psychiatry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada",
        "BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Christian G Schütz"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Vicky Stergiopoulos"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Juveria Zaheer"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Understanding Canadian experiences of suicidality during the COVID-19 pandemic: protocol of a pan-Canadian qualitative study",
  "uid": "e3299118-a2be-5870-b53c-030109e76011"
}