A whole-of-community adolescent mental health promotion and suicide prevention intervention (the Live4Life model) in regional Victoria, Australia: protocol for a mixed-methods implementation study

Background: Many school-based mental health and wellbeing interventions are not sustained beyond initial implementation. Embedding these interventions within communities may promote their sustainability. However, relatively little is known about their implementation and how this is linked to purported outcomes. Aim: This paper describes the protocol for a flagship study of the ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation exploring the implementation of Live4Life, a whole-of-community youth mental health education and suicide prevention intervention for Australian rural and regional communities, guided by three research questions: 1) How is Live4Life implemented? 2) What are the community- and organisation-, school- and individual-level factors that impact the implementation and sustainability of Live4Life? and 3) To what extent is implementation of Live4Life associated with any mental health and wellbeing outcomes? Methods: This study will employ a mixed-methods design using quantitative and qualitative data from surveys, semi-structured individual and group interviews, and documents. Theoretical frameworks guiding the study include the Behavior Change Consortium framework, the Theoretical Domains Framework, and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Approximately 40 participants from five communities in Victoria, Australia will be recruited including school leaders and staff, community partnership group members, and students. Qualitative data will primarily undergo framework synthesis and quantitative data will be analysed using descriptive statistics and linear mixed models. Discussion: As the first implementation study of Live4Life, findings will address evidence gaps in implementing whole-of-community mental health interventions. Findings will be disseminated widely to communities, academic, government, and public audiences.Key words: paediatric, young people, systems approaches, place-based