Protective factors of suicide an suicidal behavior relevant to emergency healthcare settings: A systematic review and narrative synthesis of post-2007 reviews

Suicide is a major public health concern and, with recent societal changes, such as economic and technological changes, there may be emerging protective factors that mitigate suicide risk that are unrecognized in emergency healthcare. This systematic review aims to identify protective factors for suicide that can feasibly be assessed in time-limited emergency healthcare settings. A systematic review of reviews was conducted via PsycINFO, CINAHL and Medline (2007–2015). Reviews were assessed for methodological quality using AMSTAR. A total of 24 reviews met the inclusion criteria and 8 were assessed as high quality and included in a narrative synthesis. Known protective factors were identified (e.g., social support), along with emerging protective factors (e.g., internet support). The review synthesizes recent research evidence on protective factors and discusses their relevance to emergency healthcare.