Bridging the gap: A qualitative study of providers’ perceptions of a partnered crisis follow‑up program for suicidal patients post‑emergency department discharge

Background Effective interventions are needed to address suicide risk following discharge from the hospital emergency department or inpatient setting. Studies that examine follow-up contact methods show promise, but little is known about how follow-up programs are implemented in the real world and who is benefitting. The purpose of this formative evaluation and analysis was to […]

The emergency telephone conversation in the context of the older person in suicidal crisis: a qualitative study

Background: Suicide in older people is a significant public health issue with a predicted future increase. Contemporary research directs considerable attention toward physical, mental, and social risk factors that contribute to suicidality in older people; still, little is understood about the fundamental meanings that older people in suicidal crisis attribute to these factors. Aims: The aim of […]

The impact of telephone crisis services on suicidal users: A systematic review of the past 45 years

Purpose: Telephone crisis services are increasingly subject to a requirement to “prove their worth” as a suicide prevention strategy. The purpose of this paper is to: first, provide a detailed overview of the evidence on the impact of telephone crisis services on suicidal users; second, determine the limitations of the outcome measures used in this […]

A randomized controlled trial to assess feasibility and acceptability of telephone-based psychosocial interventions in individuals who attempted suicide

Background: Brief contact interventions such as telephone-based contacts appear to be useful in individuals who attempted suicide. Most studies of telephone-based contacts in such individuals typically consisted of frequent phone reminders for adherence to treatment and seeking help for mental health issues. Telephone-based psychosocial interventions that incorporate elements of supportive and problem-solving strategies are of […]

Implementing an emergency department telephone follow-up program for suicidal patients: Successes and challenges

Background Many emergency department (ED) patients are at risk of suicide, and the ED is a key setting for suicide prevention. Although ED interventions are associated with reduced suicide attempts and societal costs, most EDs do not have follow-up programs. This pilot investigated the feasibility and implementation process of a statewide program. Methods This multicenter […]

Effectiveness of telephone-delivered interventions following suicide attempts: A systematic review

Aim To evaluate efficacy of telephone-delivered interventions following suicide attempts. Methods Systematic review, meta-analysis, and narrative synthesis. Results Five papers evaluating telephone interventions were included. Three studies provided suicide attempters with telephone contact intervention, and two studies provided deliberate self-harm patients with crisis cards to help after discharge. Meta-analyses showed that telephone contact intervention did not significantly reduce further suicide attempts […]

Exploring the use of telephone helpline pertaining to older adult suicide prevention: A Hong Kong experience.

BACKGROUND: Older adults usually have a higher suicide rate than the general population. There are helpline services provided to older adults but limited studies have examined the suicidal risks among the users, and how those services could be used as a platform to engage older adults in suicide prevention. METHODS: In regard to elderly suicide […]

What calls for service tell us about suicide: A 7-year spatio-temporal analysis of neighborhood correlates of suicide-related calls.

Previous research has shown that neighborhood-level variables such as social deprivation, social fragmentation or rurality are related to suicide risk, but most of these studies have been conducted in the U.S. or northern European countries. The aim of this study was to analyze the spatio-temporal distribution of suicide in a southern European city (Valencia, Spain), […]

Patterns of signs that telephone crisis support workers associate with suicide risk in telephone crisis line callers.

Signs of suicide are commonly used in suicide intervention training to assist the identification of those at imminent risk for suicide. Signs of suicide may be particularly important to telephone crisis-line workers (TCWs), who have little background information to identify the presence of suicidality if the caller is unable or unwilling to express suicidal intent. […]

Testing a model of functional impairment in telephone crisis support workers.

Background: It is well known that helping professionals experience functional impairment related to elevated symptoms of psychological distress as a result of frequent empathic engagement with distressed others. Whether telephone crisis support workers are impacted in a similar way is not currently reported in the literature. Aims: The purpose of this study was to test a hypothesized model […]

Evaluation of the 113Online Suicide Prevention Crisis Chat Service: Outcomes, helper behaviors and comparison to telephone hotlines.

Recognizing the importance of digital communication, major suicide prevention helplines have started offering crisis intervention by chat. To date there is little evidence supporting the effectiveness of crisis chat services. To evaluate the reach and outcomes of the 113Online volunteer-operated crisis chat service, 526 crisis chat logs were studied, replicating the use of measures that […]

Testing brief intervention and phone contact among subjects with suicidal behavior: A randomized controlled trial in French Polynesia in the frames of the World Health Organization/Suicide Trends in At-Risk Territories study.

The World Health Organization Suicide trends in at-risk territories study is a multi-site regional research program operating first in French Polynesia and countries of the Western Pacific, then extended to the world. The aims of the study were to establish a monitoring system for suicidal behaviors and to conduct a randomised control trial intervention for […]

Development and use of health-related technologies in indigenous communities: A critical review.

Older Indigenous adults encounter multiple challenges as their age intersects with health inequities. Research suggests that a majority of older Indigenous adults prefer to age in place, and they will need culturally safe assistive technologies to do so. Objective: The aim of this critical review was to examine literature concerning use, adaptation, and development of […]

Using new and emerging technologies to identify and respond to suicidality among help-seeking young people: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Suicidal thoughts are common among young people presenting to face-to-face and online mental health services. The early detection and rapid response to these suicidal thoughts and other suicidal behaviors is a priority for suicide prevention and early intervention efforts internationally. Establishing how best to use new and emerging technologies to facilitate person-centered systematic assessment and […]

Comparison of the effects of telephone suicide prevention help by volunteers and professional paid staff: Results from studies in the USA and Quebec, Canada.

Research since the 1960s has consistently found that lay volunteers are better at helping suicidal callers than professionals. Yet, professional degrees are increasingly becoming requirements for helpline workers. In our first study, we conducted post hoc comparisons of U.S. helplines with all professional paid staff, all lay volunteers, and a mix of both, using silent […]

Veterans crisis line callers with and without prior VHA service use.

Journal copy held in CSP Library.

Using telehealth to augment an intensive case monitoring program in veterans with schizophrenia and suicidal ideation: A pilot trial.

Veterans with schizophrenia admitted for suicidal ideation were recruited into a post-discharge program consisting of Intensive Case Monitoring (ICM) with daily monitoring with the Health Buddy (HB; experimental group) or ICM alone (control group). This study tested the feasibility of the telehealth monitoring intervention in this population. Secondly, we determined whether augmentation of ICM with […]

Is case management effective for long-lasting suicide prevention? A community cohort study in Northern Taiwan.

Journal held in CSP Library.

Telephone management program for patients discharged from an emergency department after a suicide attempt: A 5-year follow-up study in a Spanish population.

Journal held in CSP Library.

Effectiveness of a telephone management programme for patients discharged from an emergency department after a suicide attempt: Controlled study in a Spanish population.

To determine the effectiveness over one year of a specific telephone management programme on patients discharged from an emergency department (ED) after a suicide attempt. The intervention reduced the rate of patients who reattempted suicide in the experimental population compared to the previous year and to the control population.

The emergency telephone conversation in the context of the older person in suicidal crisis: a qualitative study.

~

Evidence-Based Practice in Suicidology: a Source Book

This edited book on evidence-based practice in suicidology is organized into 4 parts, beginning with the framework. The next section includes 9 chapters on evidence-based strategies for suicide prevention. Part 3 examines evidence-based approaches for specific disorders & behaviours. The final section is comprised of 2 chapters, including a commentary on perspectives in suicide research […]

Helplines’ Role in Suicide Prevention

This article outlines the work helplines do to provide emotional support to people in distress &, thereby, potentially preventing suicide. The author asserts that helplines also have a crucial role in reducing the number of people who develop mental health problems & in eliminating stigma associated with mental or emotional problems. The selection & training […]