Phone Call Follow-up After Crisis Centre Presentation With Suicidal Ideation and Behaviours.

Plain-language summary

This goal of this research is to examine the efficacy and feasibility of starting a phone call follow-up program for individuals discharged to the community after presenting to the Crisis Response Centre (CRC), a standalone mental health facility in Winnipeg, with suicidal ideation or behaviours. Currently there is no worldwide gold standard for how best to follow-up with individuals following presentations to health services with suicidal ideation or behaviours, despite the period immediately after discharge from mental health services being identified as a period of increased risk for death by suicide (Chung et al., 2017; Steeg et al., 2012). This risk is higher still for individuals who specifically had suicidal ideation or behaviours as a component of their reason for presenting to mental health services (Chung et al., 2017). One strategy that has been employed to mitigate this risk is brief contact interventions (BCI), which involves following up with people through text, phone calls, or written messages. Research has shown that this type of follow-up is well-received by individuals and although some studies have found this strategy reduces the rates of suicidal behaviours during this high-risk period, the overall literature shows mixed results (Miller et al., 2017; Exbrayat et al., 2017; Cebria et al., 2016; Milner et al., 2015; Morthorst et al., 2012; Fleischmann et al., 2008; Cedereke et al., 2002). Because the research on phone call follow up programs has been mixed, we will be conducting a brief trial to study the efficacy and feasibility of a phone call follow-up system in Winnipeg to inform whether or not this type of program would be of benefit to the community. In order to best study this, we will be conducting a randomized control trial for individuals who are discharged to the community after presenting to the CRC with a recent history of suicidal thoughts or behaviours. Participants will be randomized into either an intervention group or a control group. All participants will receive at least one and no more than five phone calls during the five-week period immediately following discharge from the CRC, and the content and timing of these phone calls will be different depending on which group a participant is randomized to. We will rely on both self-reported data, which will be collected in a formalized fashion, and data in the electronic medical records of participants to analyze this intervention. Our hypothesis is that the specific protocol we have designed to follow up with the intervention group will result in decreased suicidal thoughts and behaviours in the period immediately following discharge.

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