Citation

Josifovski N, Shand F, Morley K, Chia J, Henshaw R, Petrie K, Reda B, Li E, Theobald A, Onie S, Torok M, Berrouiguet S, Batterham PJ, Carter G, Haber P, Christensen H, Larsen ME. Gen. Hosp. Psychiatry 2022; 76: 1-2.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2022.03.002

PMID

35303519

Abstract

Hospital-treated self-harm is the single strongest risk factor for suicide [1]. Failure to provide rapid and effective follow-up care is associated with increased risk for repeat self-harm and suicide [2]. Brief contact interventions have been proposed as part of follow-up care, wherein a service uses media such as postcards or telephone calls to engage with individuals. These interventions overcome many of the challenges of traditional interventions by being relatively low cost, undemanding on the recipient, and scalable. Additionally, they appear to be associated with a reduction in the number of repeat self-harm episodes [3]. Brief contact interventions by SMS text message can help participants reconnect to healthcare services [4].

The Reconnecting AFTer Self-Harm (RAFT) study extends the concept of a text message brief contact intervention by including links to web-based, therapeutic content encouraging coping behaviours and targeting proximal risk factors for self-harm [5]. We report on the feasibility, through engagement (quantitative), and acceptability (qualitative) of the RAFT intervention, and report preliminary efficacy data for self-harm, suicidal ideation, and interpersonal outcomes.

This was a non-randomised, single-arm intervention, mixed methods pilot study. Participants were eligible if they were aged 16-65, had presented to a participating Australian emergency department (ED) in the previous seven days for self-harm (including self-injury or self-poisoning) or a suicide attempt...

Language: en