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To address the question of whether suicide prevention measures help to ameliorate the dramatic rise in the U.S. suicide rate (NEJM JW Psychiatry Jun 2020 and JAMA Psychiatry 2020; 77:684), researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 14 studies of single-session brief interventions using direct contact with a specialist and involving 4270 patients with suicidal ideation, attempts, or both. Most interventions occurred in emergency departments.
The researchers examined four components: follow-up phone calls, texts, and other support; coordination of outpatient follow-up; safety planning (e.g., identifying triggers for suicidal ideation and ways of remaining safe); and other brief therapies (e.g., motivational interviewing, functional analysis, and…