Skip to main content

Implementation of Suicide Care in Primary Care Cuts Rate of Suicide Attempts

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Oct 1, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Sept. 30, 2024 -- Implementation of population-based suicide care (SC) in primary care yields an increase in the rates of safety planning and a reduction in suicide attempts, according to a study published online Oct. 1 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Julie Angerhofer Richards, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the Kaiser Permanente Washington Heath Research Institute in Seattle, and colleagues examined the effectiveness of implementing population-based SC in primary care in a secondary analysis of a stepped-wedge, cluster randomized implementation trial. The study compared usual care (UC) and SC periods for adult patients with primary care visits from January 2015 to July 2018. Implementation of depression screening, suicide risk assessment, and safety planning was supported by practice facilitators, electronic medical record clinical decision support, and performance monitoring in the intervention.

Overall, 255,789 patients made 953,402 primary care visits during UC and 228,255 patients made 615,511 visits during SC. The researchers found that the rates of safety planning increased from 39.6 to 46.2 per 10,000 patients comparing UC with SC; in addition, there was a decrease in suicide attempts within 90 days, from 6.57 to 4.93 per 10,000 patients.

"Strategies to improve suicide risk identification and mitigation in primary care implemented alongside a substance care program are effective in reducing suicide attempts," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Recent Years Saw Increase in Youth With Anxiety, Depression

MONDAY, April 28, 2025 -- From 2016 to 2022, there was an increase in the proportion of youth who experienced anxiety or depression, according to a research letter published...

USPSTF Recommends Counseling to Prevent Perinatal Depression

FRIDAY, April 25, 2025 -- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends counseling for women at increased risk for perinatal depression (PND). This recommendation...

Medical Debt Tied to Higher Likelihood of Forgone Mental Health Care

FRIDAY, April 25, 2025 -- More than one in seven adults reported carrying medical debt in 2023, and of these, one in three forwent mental health care in the subsequent year...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.