A feasibility study of a text message brief intervention following a suicide attempt

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Suicide is a leading cause of death in Australia, and is the leading cause of death for young people. A previous suicide attempt is a strong predictor of death by suicide, and hospital-treated deliberate self-harm (DSH) is the single strongest risk factor for subsequent suicide. The one-year repetition rate for hospital-treated DSH is 16%, which increases to 30% for those with a history of previous suicidal behaviour. Following a suicide attempt, the first days after discharge from hospital is a particularly high-risk period. Continuity of care is critical, yet this is a time where individuals often lose contact with healthcare services. There is considerable uncertainty about the most effective post-discharge interventions to reduce repetition, with non-significant reductions attained using a variety of techniques. Brief contact interventions, including post-discharge letters, green cards, telephone calls, and postcards, have reduced the number of repeat events, but digital delivery of brief contact interventions, such as SMS, email or social media, has not yet been evaluated. The RAFT project is a single group, pre-post pilot study of a digitally-delivered brief intervention aimed at reducing repeat suicide attempts. RAFT will deliver text messages containing links to information and therapeutic content via mobile telephone, at specified intervals. To pilot this intervention, individuals aged 18 years or older who present to a participating hospital following a suicide attempt will be offered this intervention. After informed consent, baseline measures will be administered online. Follow-up measures will assess suicidal ideation and behaviour, and social connectedness. In addition, feasibility and acceptability of the intervention will be assessed by examining participants' use of the intervention materials and through semi-structured interviews.

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