The effectiveness of telehealth interventions in suicide prevention: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Sheikh Shoib, Nour Shaheen, Almoatazbellah Anwar, Abdelrahman M. Saad, Laila Mohamed Akr, Alaa I Saud, Mrinmoy Kundu, Mahsa Nahidi, Miyuru Chandradasa, Sarya Swed and Fahimeh Saeed

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2024, vol. 70, issue 3, 415-423

Abstract: Background: Suicidal attempt is a significant risk factor for future attempts, with the highest risk during the first-year post-suicide. Telepsychiatry has shown promise by providing easy access to evidence-based interventions during mental health crises. Aims: investigation the effectiveness of telehealth interventions in suicide prevention Methods: Four electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Ovid) were systematically searched for studies on patients undergoing telepsychiatry intervention (TPI) up to June 2022. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of telehealth interventions in suicide prevention. Continuous data were pooled as standardised mean difference (SMD), and dichotomous data were pooled as risk ratio using the random effects model with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Sixteen studies were included in the review. Most studies were case-control and randomised controlled trials conducted in Europe and North America. The findings of the studies generally showed that TPIs are effective in reducing suicide rates (odds ratio = 0.68; 95% CI [−0.47, 0.98], p = .04) and suicidal reattempts. The interventions were also found to be well-accepted, with high retention rates. Conclusion: Our results suggest that TPIs are well-accepted and effective in reducing suicide rates and reattempts. It is recommended to maintain telephone follow-ups for at least 12 months. Further research is needed to understand the potential of telepsychiatry in suicide prevention fully.

Keywords: Suicide; suicide prevention; telemedicine; preventive psychiatry; risk assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00207640231206059 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:70:y:2024:i:3:p:415-423

DOI: 10.1177/00207640231206059

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in International Journal of Social Psychiatry
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().