Implementability and Effectiveness of the Safety Planning Intervention for Suicidal Behavior

Safety-Planning Intervention for Suicidal Behavior in an Emergency Department: an Effectiveness-implementation Hybrid Design

The Safety Plan Intervention (SPI) has demonstrated to reduce suicide reattempts and to increase the ambulatory follow-up in american war veterans. This study evaluates the implementability and effectiveness in a significantly different population in a real world setting.

We will perform a Effectiveness-implementation Hybrid Design (Curran et al. 2012) to study firstly the feasibility of implementing the SPI in our clinical setting and secondly its effectiveness. The experimental arm will consist in a group of patients who visit the ED for a suicide-related concern in which the SPI is performed. This will be in the Emergency Department , unless for clinical reasons, the ED psychiatrist decide to postpone it to the first psychiatric appointment (which will be before one week of the ED visit as part of the treatment as usual).

Right after the SPI is performed, both the patient and the clinician will complete questionnaire with satisfaction and acceptability measures. Subjects will be followed for 6 months. At this time medical records will be consulted to obtain suicide reattempts rates and follow-up adherence.

At all times, the anonymity of the participants will be preserved and will require heading of informed consent, as well as other ethical aspects indicated by the Ethics Committee.

Inclusion criteria:

1. Suicide attempt or presence of severe suicidal ideation
2. Signed Informed Consent Form

Exclusion criteria:

1. Less than 18 years old
2. Hospitalization in the Psychiatry Department
3. Inability to understand the Safety Planning Intervention

Withdrawal criteria:

1) Participant's decision to withdraw from the trial