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Prevention of Suicidal Behavior with Telemedicine in Patients with a Recent Suicide Attempt: Is a 6‐month Intervention Long Enough?
Author(s) -
Gabilondo Andrea,
Aristegi Edurne,
GonzalezPinto Ana,
Martin Zurimendi José,
Mateos Del Pino Maider,
Roca Raquel,
Zorrilla Iñaki,
Iruin Alvaro
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/sltb.12576
Subject(s) - medicine , intervention (counseling) , telephone call , suicide prevention , poison control , injury prevention , outpatient clinic , occupational safety and health , suicide attempt , prospective cohort study , physical therapy , medical emergency , psychiatry , surgery , electrical engineering , pathology , engineering
Objective To analyze the results of a 6‐month telephone follow‐up program for the prevention of suicidality in adult patients discharged from three general hospitals after a suicide attempt. Results are compared with traditional programs lasting 12 months or more. Methods This is a prospective, multicenter, study with the control group. Patients in the intervention group received five protocolized telephone calls which were added to their usual treatment. Those in the control group only received usual treatment. Each patient was followed up for 12 months. Results A total of 123 patients were included in the intervention group and 463 in the control group. 57.7% received at least three calls. Patients in the intervention group took longer to perform a reattempt ( p = .05). The percentage of those who did a reattempt ( p = .67) and the number of reattempts per patient ( p = .66) did not differ between groups. Those in the intervention group showed higher percentages of adherence to the outpatient follow‐up ( p < .001). Conclusion The intervention was well accepted and showed improved percentages of adherence to outpatient follow‐up; however, the results in the prevention of suicidality were worse than those obtained by programs lasting 12 months or more. It is advisable to maintain the telephone follow‐up for a minimum of 12 months.