The TrackSAFE Foundation and Lifeline Australia launched the Pause.Call.Be Heard (PCBH) campaign in 2017 as part of the activities to reduce suicide in the rail environment.
The campaign uses positive and interactive advertisements to encourage the public to take a moment and remember that they are never alone; and that Lifeline’s crisis support services are available 24/7.
Following a concurrent delivery of the campaign in Victoria and New South Wales between June 2020 and June 2021, Lifeline evaluated its impact. The results of the campaign evaluation show that the campaign was associated with an actual positive change in behaviour.
Specifically, the campaign resulted in a statistically significant increase in calls to Lifeline from NSW, accompanied by a (lesser) trend for increased calls to Lifeline from Victoria.
This outcome is particularly notable because, while previous evaluations of PCBH have shown significant increases in help seeking intent, this more current data provides the first evidence of a change in actual behaviours resulting from exposure to the campaign.
In addition, the survey found:
- Roughly two thirds of all respondents engaged with at least one of the campaign messages.
- Importantly, males and respondents that remembered seeing the advertisements within the past month were also more likely to report engaging with at least one of the PCBH campaign messages.
- Survey respondents were also more likely to report calling Lifeline for themselves and to consider the PCBH messaging if they saw the PCBH advertisements either on a billboard at the train station and digitally at the train station, rather than if they reported just seeing the ads digitally.
The 2021 evaluation report is available here.
Information about the 2018 PCBH evaluation report is available here.
See TrackSAFE’s current suicide prevention activities here.
Updated 11 January 2024