Citation

Vijayakumar L, Umamaheswari C, Shujaath Ali ZS, Devaraj P, Kesavan K. Indian J. Psychiatry 2011; 53(3): 244-248.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Voluntary Health Service, SNEHA, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Medknow Publications)

DOI

10.4103/0019-5545.86817

PMID

22135444

PMCID

PMC3221182

Abstract

AIM: To determine whether brief intervention and contact (BIC) is effective in reducing subsequent suicidal behavior among suicide attempters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Suicide attempters (n=680) admitted in a general hospital in Chennai were randomly allocated to treatment as usual and BIC whose components include brief intervention at the time of discharge and contact for 18 months. RESULTS: Completed suicide was significantly lower in the BIC group, OR 35.4 (CI 18.4 - 78.2) as also attempted suicide, OR 17.3 (CI 10.8 - 29.7). CONCLUSIONS: This low-cost intervention which can be readily implemented may be an important suicide prevention strategy in healthcare settings in India.

Language: en