Citation

Spangler DA, Muñoz RF, Chu J, Leykin Y. J. Technol. Behav. Sci. 2020; 5(2): 129-138.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s41347-019-00120-y

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Suicide is a public health crisis, yet few online resources that specifically target suicidality are available. The aim of the present study was to develop an automated, self-guided Internet-Based Safety Plan (IBSP) and to explore how intended users - members of the Internet community who endorsed past or current suicidality - utilized this resource. Participants (N = 150) were adult visitors to an automated Internet-based depression/suicidality screening website, who were either invited to take part in the present study or redirected to the present study from the referring website. Participants were offered comprehensive prompts to guide them through creating a personalized Safety Plan. Participants provided feedback regarding their use of IBSP; data entered in the Safety Plan itself were also analyzed. Participants gave largely positive ratings regarding website navigation, explanations, and examples and reported an overall positive impression of IBSP. Qualitative analysis of the responses suggested that several aspects of IBSP could be enhanced; these included making the IBSP even more predictable and modifying instructions for specific steps. These data will be critical for creating future versions of IBSP, to develop a highly usable and effective Internet-based safety plan to help individuals during crises.

Language: en