Dealing with Suicide Attempts in Emergency Settings

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. A paper published in a recent issue of Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention evaluates the effectiveness of 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 Republic of Iran; and Yuncheng, People’s Republic of China) as part of the WHO Multisite Intervention Study on Suicidal Behaviors (SUPRE-MISS). Among the 1,867 suicide attempters enrolled in the emergency departments of the participating sites, 922 (49.4%) were randomly assigned to a brief intervention and contact (BIC) group and 945 (50.6%) to a treatment as usual (TAU) group. Repeated suicide attempts over the 18 months following the index attempt—the secondary outcome measure presented in the paper—were identified by follow-up calls or visits. Subsequent completed suicide—the primary outcome measure—has been reported in a previous paper. Results showed that, overall, the proportion of subjects with repeated suicide attempts was similar in the BIC and TAU groups (7.6% vs. 7.5%, χ² = 0.013; p = .909), but there were differences in rates across the five sites.The study authors concluded that the results do not confirm the effectiveness of brief educational intervention and follow-up contacts for suicide attempters in reducing subsequent repetition of suicide attempts up to 18 months after discharge from emergency departments.

For the abstract.