Citation

Sreedaran P, Beniwal RP, Chari U, S ST, V VSS, Gupta V, Bhatia T, Deshpande SN. Indian J. Psychol. Med. 2021; 43(2): 144-149.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Indian Psychiatric Society, South Zone, Publisher Medknow Publications)

DOI

10.1177/0253717620939272

PMID

34376890

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Brief contact interventions such as telephone-based contacts appear to be useful in individuals who attempted suicide. Most studies of telephone-based contacts in such individuals typically consisted of frequent phone reminders for adherence to treatment and seeking help for mental health issues. Telephone-based psychosocial interventions that incorporate elements of supportive and problem-solving strategies are of interest in Indian settings due to their potential application in mitigating the wide mental health gap. Feasibility studies of telephone-based psychosocial interventions could help ascertain the difficulties that arise in the implementation of such treatments.

METHODS: A multicentric randomized controlled trial (RCT) is currently underway in general hospital settings in two Indian cities to study the efficacy of telephone-based psychosocial interventions in individuals with a recent suicide attempt, with routine telephone contacts (TCs) serving as the comparator. Prior to that RCT, this feasibility study was conducted to assess the acceptability of the telephone-based intervention and telephone contacts. Feasibility was assessed using dropout rates. Acceptability was assessed using participant-rated Likert-based visual analog scores from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating greater acceptability.

RESULTS: Dropout rates and mean acceptability scores for telephone-based psychosocial interventions were 38.5% and 8.63, while those for TCs were 41.7% and 7.57, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: Telephone-based psychosocial interventions are feasible and acceptable in individuals with a recent suicide attempt.

Language: en

Keywords

suicide; Suicide attempt; brief contact; psychosocial; telephone interventions