Citation

Becker-Haimes EM, Schaechter T, Green KL, Bridges K, Jager-Hyman S. Community Ment. Health J. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10597-023-01208-9

PMID

37982974

Abstract

Mobile crisis teams (MCTs) deploy clinicians to assist individuals in acute crisis in the community. Little is known about the extent to which these teams provide evidence-based practices (EBPs) for suicide prevention nor the barriers they face. We surveyed 120 MCT clinicians across the United States about their: (1) use of suicide risk screening and assessment tools; (2) strategies used to address suicide risk (both EBPs and non-EBPs); and (3) perceived barriers to high-quality MCT services. Nearly all clinicians reported use of validated suicide screening tools and generic "safety planning." However, a sizeable minority also reported use of non-EBPs. Open-ended responses suggested many client/family-, clinician-, and systems-level barriers to MCT use of EBPs for suicide prevention. We identified several targets for future implementation efforts, including the need for de-implementation strategies to reduce use of ineffective and potentially harmful practices, and unique aspects of MCTs that require tailored implementation supports.

Language: en

Keywords

Suicide prevention; Evidence-based practices; Mobile crisis services