Effectiveness of Suicide Safety Planning Interventions: A Systematic Review Informing Occupational Therapy

Abstract

Background. Suicide safety planning (SSP) is a suicide prevention approach that involves developing a collaborative plan between a service provider such as an occupational therapist and a person who is at risk of suicide. Purpose. To synthesize effectiveness studies on SSP. Method. Using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, we conducted a systematic review of effectiveness studies including a: (1) title and abstract screening; (2) full-text review; (3) critical appraisal; and (4) narrative synthesis. Findings. We included 22 studies. Critical appraisal scores ranged from 38.5 to 92.3 (m = 63.7). The types of interventions included were: standard and enhanced SSP (n = 11); electronically delivered SSP (n = 5); and SSP integrated with other approaches (n = 6). Only three studies identified meaningful activity as a component of SSP. Evidence across a range of studies indicates that SSP is effective for reducing suicide behavior (SB) and ideation (SI). While some studies have demonstrated effectiveness for reducing symptoms of mental illness, promoting resilience and service use, the number of studies exploring these outcomes is currently limited. Implications. Occupational therapists support individuals expressing SI, and SSP is a necessary skill for practice.

“It’s like your days are empty and yet there’s life all around”: A mixed methods, multi-site study exploring boredom during and following homelessness

“…Overall, our findings suggest that interventions aimed at engaging individuals in meaningful activity are a serious gap in existing services. In a recent systematic review focused on the effectiveness of interventions for engaging individuals experiencing homelessness in meaningful activity, only nine moderate-high quality studies were identified [ 65 ]. The dire lack of intervention research in this area combined with the findings of this study suggest that future research aimed at developing and evaluating such interventions is needed.…”

Introduction to the Special Issue on Occupational Participation in Times of Adversity

“…En plus des articles qui ont été spécifiquement soumis en lien avec le thème, on trouve dans ce numéro spécial une revue systématique sur l’efficacité des interventions de planification en prévention du suicide (Marshall, Crowley, et al, 2023), une contribution importante pour aider les ergothérapeutes à mieux soutenir les personnes présentant un risque de suicide. Cet article synthétise 22 études, dont trois sur des interventions de planification en prévention du suicide intégrant les occupations significatives.…”

“…Dans « Activité significative, bien-être psychosocial et pauvreté pendant la COVID-19 : une étude longitudinale » (« Meaningful activity, psychosocial well-being, and poverty during COVID-19: A longitudinal study »), Marshall, Gewurtz et leurs collaborateurs (2023) cherchent à comprendre comment les politiques de distanciation physique ont entraîné une diminution de la participation à des activités significatives chez les personnes en situation de pauvreté et exacerbé les iniquités à travers une étude réalisée sur une période d’un an. Les participants ont perdu l’accès à des installations favorisant les occupations actives et créatives, ce qui les a laissés isolés et avec trop de temps libre.…”

“…Accompanying the papers intentionally responding to the theme of this special issue is a systematic review on the effectiveness of suicide safety planning interventions (Marshall et al, 2023a), an important contribution to informing occupational therapy practice to better support people at risk of suicide. Their study synthesizes 22 studies, of which three used suicide safety planning interventions inclusive of meaningful occupations.…”