Ivan Nugraha (he/him) is a PhD candidate at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, where he is studying the intersection of language-literacy and suicide among young people in Tasmania. Ivan holds a Bachelor of Medicine and a Doctor of Medicine from Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia, and a Master of Science in Global Mental Health with a Specialism in Health Promotion from the University of Glasgow, UK. Ivan was awarded the Dr. Liz Campbell Memorial Prize for achieving the highest overall grade for his coursework and dissertation, a meta-ethnographic study titled Suicide and Self-Harm: Identity Validation among Sexual and Gender Minority Youth.

As a community mental health practitioner, Ivan has extensive professional and voluntary experience working with vulnerable and marginalised young people, including religious and ethnic minorities, sexual and gender minorities, and youth within the justice system. Ivan is also an Honorary Research Assistant at the School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow.

Ivan’s research interests include the social determinants of suicide, involvement of individuals with lived and living experience in research, and the intersection of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) with mental health, particularly within vulnerable and marginalised communities.

Ivan’s project aims to investigate how language-literacy challenges impact suicide risk and access to mental health resources among young people in Tasmania. This project will explore how these challenges may create barriers to accessing mental health services, increase feelings of social isolation, and worsen mental health struggles. Ivan’s project is especially important for Tasmania, which has the second-highest suicide rate in Australia and faces unique challenges in service delivery due to its regional and remote communities.

To better understand this issue, a range of research methods will be used. Planned methods include a review of Tasmanian coronial findings and data from the Tasmanian Suicide Register, as well as speaking directly with young people about their experiences. Personal stories will be gathered through interviews, video diaries, and creative visual activities. Additionally, a co-design workshop with young people who have lived experience of suicidal thoughts or behaviours is also planned.

By learning directly from young people about their experiences with language-literacy challenges, this project aims to identify ways to improve mental health support and develop more inclusive, tailored suicide prevention strategies.

Supervisors: A/Professor Amanda Neil, Professor Kimberley Norris and A/Professor Isabelle Bartkowiak-Theron