Use of new technologies in suicide prevention in adolescents: Systematic literature review

Introduction: Suicide is one of the main causes of death in adolescents. In assessing suicide risk, technology is gaining ground. Adolescents have experienced users of technology, justifying interventions based on new technologies in suicide prevention.

Objective: To identify the benefits of using new technologies to prevent suicide risk in adolescents.

Methods: Systematic literature review. The research was performed in EBSCOhost and PubMed databases. Included articles according to PRISMA recommendations. Boolean conjugation with descriptors in English was used: technology* AND (APP OR application OR mobile application) AND (suicide*) AND (adolescent OR youth OR puberty).

Results: 11 articles met the inclusion and eligibility criteria. Mobile applications or APPs and language detection were the typologies found, with Smartphone Applications/APPs present in a greater number of studies. The results prove the importance of using new technologies to prevent the risk of suicide in adolescents.

Conclusion: Evidence demonstrated an elevated adhesion to the use of new technologies, useful in preventing the risk of suicide by adolescents. The new technologies were considered to be well-accepted and have beneficial effects. Presently, there is insufficient data to support the use of these interventions in clinical practice. The number of studies on this topic is limited, requiring further investigation.