Experts from the Yale School of Medicine found a mobile phone app helped reduce suicidal behaviour among high-risk psychiatric inpatients.
The research, published today in the JAMA Network, examined how the newly developed app, OTX-202, helped reduce the risk of post-discharge suicide attempts among patients who had previously tried to take their own life.
Scientists from the Yale School of Medicine, the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Centre and College of Medicine, discovered the app cut suicide re-attempts by 58.3% among patients. What’s more, people who used the app reported reductions in suicidal thoughts for up to 24 weeks after psychiatric hospitalisation.
Co-first author of the study, Professor Craig Bryan, said: ‘Although suicide-specific therapy is highly effective for reducing suicidal thoughts and urges, finding therapists who know how to do this life-saving therapy after leaving hospital can be challenging. OTX-202 provides a possible solution to that problem.’
When conducting the research, which was comprised of 339 people from six different hospitals across America, participants were randomly assigned to use either the OTX-202 app or an active control app alongside their usual treatment.
The OTX-202 app, which was developed by Oui Therapeutics, delivered a suicide-specific therapy module while the other app focused on safety planning and psychoeducation.
According to the study, which was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, those who used OTX-202 were more likely to show signs of improvement.
Seth Feuerstein, senior author of the research, added: ‘Patients and those who care for them do not have access to reliable and effective tools and resources to reduce future suicide risk. This population faces arguably the biggest gap in access to effective interventions of any leading killer.’
‘The potential clinical and population health impact of this new option is extraordinary,’ Seth continued. ‘We are incredibly appreciative of the support provided by everyone involved, especially the National Institute of Mental Health who provided funding for the study.’
The full research can be read here.
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