Mobile Crisis Team Intervention to Enhance Linkage of Discharged Suicidal Emergency Department Patients to Outpatient Psychiatric Services: a Randomized Controlled Trial

In a rater-blinded, randomized controlled trial, 120 participants who were evaluated for suicidal thoughts, plans, or behaviours, & who were subsequently discharged from an urban emergency department, were randomized to follow-up either in the community via a mobile crisis team or at an outpatient mental health clinic. Successful first clinical contact after discharge occurred in 39 of 56 participants randomized to the mobile crisis team versus 19 of 64 to the oupatient mental health clinic. No significant differences were detected between groups using intention-to-treat analyses in symptom or functional outcome measures, at either 2 weeks or 3 months after enrollment. Overall, participants showed some improvement shortly after discharge regardless of outpatient clinical contact, but nonetheless remained significantly symptomatic & at risk for repeated emergency department presentations. (19 refs.) JA

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