Breaking Down Barriers to a Suicide Prevention Helpline: Web-Based Randomized Controlled Trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Every month, around 3800 people complete an anonymous self-test for suicidal thoughts on the website of the Dutch suicide prevention helpline. Although 70% score high on the severity of suicidal thoughts, <10% navigate to the web page about contacting the helpline.

Objective

This study aimed to test the effectiveness of a brief barrier reduction intervention (BRI) in motivating people with severe suicidal thoughts to contact the suicide prevention helpline, specifically in high-risk groups such as men and middle-aged people.

Methods

We conducted a fully automated, web-based, randomized controlled trial. Respondents with severe suicidal thoughts and little motivation to contact the helpline were randomly allocated either to a brief BRI, in which they receive

SUBMITTER: Van der Burgt MCA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11391658 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature