Citation

Oquendo MA, Courtet P. Lancet Psychiatry 2015; 2(1): 5-6.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S2215-0366(14)00059-5

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The search for effective interventions for suicidal behaviour is hampered by the rarity of its occurrence, even in high-risk samples.1 Randomised controlled trials, in which suicide or suicide attempt is the outcome of interest are rare,2 and most of these studies have small sample sizes. One strategy to address the low base-rate challenge is to use extant national or regional databases that contain treatment information to estimate the effects of a specific intervention. These designs can yield large sample sizes that are crucial to study interventions for suicidal behaviour, and with propensity scoring, some of the inherent biases that plague treatment assignment in clinical settings can be addressed.

Language: en