Finding into death of Student KCM
Deceased
KCM
Demographics
29y, female
Date of death
2020-07-20
Finding date
2023-10-02
Cause of death
hanging
AI-generated summary
A 29-year-old international medical graduate student from Bangladesh died by hanging in July 2020. She was studying a Master of Public Health at Deakin University but had failed multiple units and was struggling academically. Despite the university offering support twice (via letters in July 2019 and November 2019), she declined assistance and did not engage with counselling or medical services. There was no evidence of prior mental health contact or disclosure of suicidality to family or friends. The coroner found her death unforeseeable and that no one bore responsibility. However, the investigation identified a critical systemic issue: international students in Australia show markedly lower help-seeking behaviours compared to domestic students, with only 22% accessing mental health services within 6 weeks of suicide versus 57% of Australian-born students. The coroner emphasised that universities face a significant challenge in encouraging international students to engage with existing support services when experiencing mental health crises, and made recommendations for developing quality frameworks to improve international student mental health support.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Error types
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- academic difficulties and failure of multiple units
- lack of engagement with available university support services
- lack of help-seeking behaviour despite support being offered
- international student status with associated acculturation and social isolation stressors
- online learning during COVID-19 limiting social connection
- possible undisclosed mental health struggle regarding academic pressure
Coroner's recommendations
- The Suicide Prevention and Response Office should review the Orygen Quality Evaluation Framework in the context of this finding and its work relating to international students, and consider whether such a resource would assist universities to assess and review how they support international student health and wellbeing.
- The Victorian Department of Health should consider developing and maintaining a resource to assist Victorian universities in implementing and reviewing their programs targeted at international student wellbeing, to be regularly revised in collaboration with universities to share new research, program design, and ideas for monitoring international student wellbeing and encouraging help-seeking among those experiencing mental health crises or suicidality.
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