An emergency department intervention for linking pediatric suicidal patients to follow-up mental health treatment.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents. Many suicidal youths treated in emergency departments do not receive follow-up treatment as advocated by the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Two strategies for improving rates of follow-up treatment were compared.

Methods

In a randomized controlled trial, suicidal youths at two emergency departments (N=181; ages ten to 18) were individually assigned between April 2003 and August 2005 to one of two conditions: an enhanced mental health intervention involving a family-based cognitive-behavioral therapy session designed to increase motivation for follow-up treatment and safety, supplemented by care linkage telephone contacts after emergency department discharge, or usual emergency department care

SUBMITTER: Asarnow JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3251923 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature