Interventions targeting the mental health and wellbeing of care‑experienced children and young people in higher‑income countries: Evidence map and systematic review

Background The mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced children and young people (i.e. foster care, kinship care, residential care) is poorer than non-care-experienced populations. The Care-experienced cHildren and young people’s Interventions to improve Mental health and wEll-being outcomes Systematic review (CHIMES) aimed to synthesise the international evidence base for interventions targeting subjective wellbeing, mental health […]

Implementations of an evidence‐based assertive case management intervention for suicide attempters: Post‐ACTION‐J Study (PACS)

Aim An assertive case management intervention program, ACTION-J, proved effective for preventing suicide attempters from reattempting suicide within 6 months. The ACTION-J randomized trial was conducted as part of the “National Strategic Research Projects.” The program has been covered by the national medical payment system of Japan since 2016. The aim of the Post-ACTION-J Study […]

Comparative effectiveness of safety planning intervention with instrumental support calls (ISC) versus safety planning intervention with two-way text message caring contacts (CC) in adolescents and adults screening positive for suicide risk in emergency departments and primary care clinics: Protocol for a pragmatic randomized controlled trial

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death in adolescents and adults in the US. Follow-up support delivered when patients return home after an emergency department (ED) or primary care encounter can significantly reduce suicidal ideation and attempts. Two follow-up models to augment usual care including the Safety Planning Intervention have high efficacy: Instrumental Support Calls […]

Assessing the reliability of the CAMS rating scale using a generalizability study

Background: An important consideration when conducting randomized controlled trials is treatment differentiation. Direct observation helps ensure that providers in different treatment groups are delivering distinct interventions. One direct observation method is the use of a measure to rate clinician performance when delivering an intervention. Aims: This generalizability study evaluated the reliability of the CAMS Rating Scale (CRS), a […]

Recent trends and developments in suicide prevention for older adults

KEY POINTS Suicide rates peak in late life yet few suicide prevention interventions have been adequately evaluated and found effective. Training of clinicians and gatekeepers, brief psychotherapies for at-risk older people, and aftercare for those who have self-harmed have best evidence of effect. Strategies to improve social connectedness have shown benefits on measures of social […]

Suicide prevention outreach on social media delivered by trained volunteers: A qualitative study

Background: There is a need to develop new ways to reach and engage people at risk for suicidal behavior. Suicide prevention outreach on social media (SPOSM) represents a promising strategy, and trained volunteers could potentially provide the needed human resources. Aims: We aimed to investigate users’ perception of SPOSM delivered by volunteers of the Israeli Sahar organization and […]

The engaged community action for preventing suicide (ECAPS) model in Latin America: Development of the ¡PEDIR! program

Purpose It is estimated that someone dies by suicide every 40 s globally and that 3000 people end their lives daily. Of these deaths, 79% occur in low-resource settings. The very nature of the low-resource settings often serves as a barrier to the adoption and implementation of evidence-based suicide prevention models that have demonstrated success in […]

A blended face‑to‑face and smartphone intervention to improve suicide prevention literacy and help‑seeking intentions among construction workers: a randomised controlled trial

Purpose: In Australia and elsewhere, suicide rates among construction workers remain high. Construction workplaces are thus an important setting for targeted suicide prevention programs. This study aimed to compare suicide prevention literacy and help-seeking intentions among participants receiving face-to-face suicide prevention training, with those receiving face-to-face training augmented by a smartphone application. Methods: A two-arm randomised controlled […]

Session-specific effects on suicidality in group therapy: No evidence for contagion

Objective Explicitly addressing suicidality in group therapy is often avoided due to the fear of contagion effects. However, there is some evidence that this fear is not valid. Therefore, the present study aims at contributing to this question by investigating the session-specific effects of two modules on suicidality that are part of the Metacognitive Training […]

A CBT-based psychoeducational intervention for suicide survivors: A cluster randomized controlled study

Background: Bereavement following suicide is associated with an increased vulnerability for depression, complicated grief, suicidal ideation, and suicide. There is, however, a paucity of studies of the effects of interventions in suicide survivors. Aims: This study therefore examined the effects of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based psychoeducational intervention on depression, complicated grief, and suicide risk factors in […]

Mapping the evidence of prevention and intervention studies for suicidal and self-harming behaviors in young people

Background: Suicide and self-harm (SSH) in young people is a major cause of disability-adjusted life years. Effective interventions are of critical importance to reducing the mortality and morbidity associated with SSH. Aims: To investigate the extent and nature of research on interventions to prevent and treat SSH in young people using evidence mapping. Method: A systematic search for […]

An intervention and follow-up study following a suicide attempt in the emergency departments of four general hospitals in Shenyang, China

Background: Studies on the effects of interventions in patients who have attempted suicide in China have not reported so far. Aims: To describe the basic situation surrounding the interventions and follow-up of patients who have attempted suicide and to determine whether the interventions would be effective in reducing repeat suicide attempts. Method: 239 patients who had attempted suicide […]

Early impacts of the ‘National Suicide Prevention Trial’ on trends in suicide and hospital admissions for self-harm in Australia

Objectives: The National Suicide Prevention Trial was announced by the Australian Government in 2016 and aimed to prevent suicidal behaviour in 12 trial sites (representing a population of ~8 million). This study investigated the early population-level impact of the National Suicide Prevention Trial activity on rates of suicide and hospital admissions for self-harm in comparison to […]

A systematic review of elderly suicide prevention programs

Background: Suicide rates are highest among the elderly, yet research on suicide prevention in old age remains a much-neglected area. Aims: We carried out a systematic review to examine the results of interventions aimed at suicidal elderly persons and to identify successful strategies and areas needing further exploration. Methods: Searches through various electronic databases yielded 19 studies with […]

Intervention studies in suicide prevention research

Background: Despite the growing strength of the field of suicidology, various commentators have recently noted that insufficient effort is being put into intervention research, and that this is limiting our knowledge of which suicide prevention strategies might be the most effective. Aims: To profile the types of studies currently being undertaken by suicide prevention researchers from around […]

Repetition of suicide attempts: Data from emergency care settings in five culturally different low- and middle-income countries participating in the WHO SUPRE-MISS Study

Background: Attempted suicide is a strong risk factor for subsequent suicidal behaviors. Innovative strategies to deal with people who have attempted suicide are needed, particularly in resource-poor settings. Aims: To evaluate a brief educational intervention and periodic follow-up contacts (BIC) for suicide attempters in five culturally different sites (Campinas, Brazil; Chennai, India; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Karaj, Islamic […]

Suicide in young people: screening, risk assessment, and intervention

Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among young people worldwide and the third leading cause of death among those in the US. This review outlines the epidemiology of suicide and suicidal behavior in young people. It discusses intersectionality as an emerging framework to guide research on prevention of suicide in young people and […]

A pilot study of mobile telephone message interventions with suicide attempters in China

Background: In China, where follow-up with hospitalized attempters is generally lacking, there is a great need for inexpensive and effective means of maintaining contact and decreasing recidivism. Aims: Our objective was to test whether mobile telephone message contacts after discharge would be feasible and acceptable to suicide attempters in China. Methods: Fifteen participants were recruited from suicide attempters […]

Suicide prevention using Google ads: Randomized controlled trial measuring engagement

Background: Studies have shown that individuals may search for suicide-related terms on the internet prior to an attempt. Objective: Thus, across 2 studies, we investigated engagement with an advertisement campaign designed to reach individuals contemplating suicide. Methods: First, we designed the campaign to focus on crisis, running a campaign for 16 days in which crisis-related keywords would trigger […]

Efforts to prevent railway suicides in Denmark: A pilot study

Background: Reviews of camera surveillance systems have demonstrated ambivalent behaviors among people who die by railway suicide. Yet, only few preventive measures have been evaluated. Aims: We aimed to review incidents of suicidal behavior at a Danish railway station, install preventive measures, and monitor subsequent calls to a telephone helpline and reports of suicidal incidences. […]

Facilitators and barriers to implementation of suicide prevention interventions: Scoping review

We know that suicide is preventable, yet hundreds of thousands of people still die due to suicide every year. Many interventions were proven to be effective, and dozens of others showed promising results. However, translating these interventions into new settings brings several challenges. One of the crucial obstacles to success is not anticipating possible barriers […]

Content analysis of suicide prevention web pages from perspective of preventive psychiatric approaches

Suicide is a serious public health problem; however, suicides are preventable with evidence-based and often low-cost interventions. This study analyzes the online content of suicide prevention and helps websites in the context of preventive psychiatry. The universe and sample of the research consisted of 147 web pages whose links can be found on the most […]

Building a temporal sequence for developing prevention strategies, risk assessment, and perpetrator interventions in domestic abuse related suicide, honour killing, and intimate partner homicide

Objective • To build narrative tools for developing prevention strategies, risk assessment, and perpetrator interventions in domestic abuse related suicide, honour killing, and intimate partner homicide Outputs • Three draft tools were designed from the three data sets using temporal sequencing • The draft tools represent a simplified presentation of the temporal sequences and were […]