National Center for Telehealth & Technology (T2), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA 98431, USA.
Crisis. 2013 Jan 1;34(1):32-41. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000158.
The time period following discharge from inpatient psychiatry and emergency department (ED) treatment is one of heightened risk for repeat suicide attempts for patients. Evidence reported in the literature shows that follow-up contacts might reduce suicide risk, although there has not been a comprehensive and critical review of the evidence to date.
To evaluate evidence for the effectiveness of suicide prevention interventions that involve follow-up contacts with patients.
Published empirical studies of follow-up interventions with suicidal behaviors (suicide, attempts, and ideation) as outcomes were searched. Study populations were inpatient psychiatric or ED patients being discharged to home. Contact modalities included phone, postal letter, postcards, in-person, and technology-based methods (e-mail and texting).
Eight original studies, two follow-up studies, and one secondary analysis study met inclusion criteria. Five studies showed a statistically significant reduction in suicidal behavior. Four studies showed mixed results with trends toward a preventative effect and two studies did not show a preventative effect.
Repeated follow-up contacts appear to reduce suicidal behavior. More research is needed, however, especially randomized controlled trials, to determine what specific factors might make follow-up contact modalities or methods more effective than others.
从住院精神病学和急诊部（ED）治疗出院后，患者再次尝试自杀的风险较高。文献中报告的证据表明，随访接触可能会降低自杀风险，但迄今为止，尚未对证据进行全面和批判性的审查。
评估涉及与患者进行随访接触的预防自杀干预措施的有效性。
搜索了以自杀行为（自杀、企图和意念）为结局的随访干预的已发表实证研究。研究人群为出院回家的住院精神病学或 ED 患者。联系方式包括电话、信件、明信片、面对面和基于技术的方法（电子邮件和短信）。
符合纳入标准的有八项原始研究、两项随访研究和一项二次分析研究。五项研究显示自杀行为有统计学意义的减少。四项研究显示结果不一，有预防作用的趋势，两项研究则没有显示预防作用。
重复的随访接触似乎可以降低自杀行为。然而，需要更多的研究，特别是随机对照试验，以确定哪些特定因素可能使随访联系方式或方法比其他方法更有效。
