Management of suicide and self-harm risk by the National Mental Health Helpline in the State of Qatar

Abstract

Background Suicide is a serious public health problem. Aims To investigate the sociodemographic and clinical features of callers (patients) classed by the Qatar National Mental Health Helpline (NMHH) as moderate to high priority based on the risk of self-harm or suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method The study design was a retrospective chart review of patients who contacted the helpline in the first 12 months, starting 1 April 2020. Data of those classed as moderate to high priority based on risk to self were collected using a specifically designed form. Absolute and relative frequencies for each of the studied categorical variables were determined. Results Four hundred and ninety-eight patients were included. More than half were female. The mean age was 32 years (range 8–85 years). Two-thirds of patients were from Arab countries and more than half of all patients had contacted mental health services for the first time. The most common symptoms elicited included suicidal thoughts, depressed mood and disturbed sleep. The most common psychiatric disorders were depression and generalised anxiety disorder. Most patients were seen within 4 h and received psychiatric interventions. Virtually all patients received non-pharmacological interventions; only 38.5% received pharmacological interventions. The majority had follow-up appointments arranged with mental health services. Conclusions People from the Indian subcontinent and males proportionally approached services less, which may reflect stigma. The NMHH improved access to care for patients considered at risk to self and prevented hospital admissions. The NMHH offers a valuable additional choice to patients and assists in prevention and management of suicidal behaviour and other mental health difficulties.

Covid-19 hotlines, helplines and call centers: a systematic review of characteristics, challenges and lessons learned

“…As Table 1 shows 18 Studies were undertaken in the Asia (India [ 36 – 43 ], China [ 30 , 44 – 47 ], Qatar [ 48 , 49 ], Bangladesh [ 50 ], Indonesia [ 51 ], Nepal [ 52 ]), 11 in the North America (United States [ 17 , 20 , 29 , 31 , 53 – 58 ], Dominican Republic [ 59 ]), 10 in the Europe (Austria [ 60 ], France [ 61 ], United Kingdom (UK) [ 62 , 63 ], Slovenia [ 64 ], German [ 65 ], Ireland [ 66 ], Poland [ 16 ], Serbia [ 67 ], Spain [ 68 ]), 3 in Africa (Tunisia [ 69 ], Egypt [ 70 ], Uganda [ 71 ]), and 1 in South America (Bolivia [ 22 ]). Among them, 11 studies were published in 2020, 11 in 2021, 9 in 2022, and 12 in 2023, and a summary of them is presented in Table 1 .…”

“…About 75.1% of the study sample had satisfactory awareness and 50.1% had positive attitude towards using online emergency triage services. 33 Alabdulla et al, 2023 [ 48 ] Qatar Investigating the sociodemographic and clinical features of callers classed by the Qatar Helpline as moderate to high priority based on the risk of self-harm or suicide during the Covid-19 pandemic. Quantitative National Mental Health Helpline (NMHH)/ Public April 2020/ six days a week Addressing mental health and well-being issues for the Qatari community during the Covid-19 pandemic Psychological issues The majority of calls were made by patients (77.7%), followed by carers (20.1%).…”

“…According to the finding, most of the studies aimed to describe a Covid-19 hotline/helpline/call center [ 17 , 20 , 29 , 31 , 40 , 44 , 49 , 52 , 56 , 58 – 65 , 69 ], analyze the calls [ 16 , 20 , 22 , 29 , 30 , 37 – 43 , 45 – 47 , 49 – 52 , 54 , 55 , 57 – 68 , 71 ] and the demographic characteristics of the callers [ 16 , 22 , 29 , 30 , 37 , 38 , 40 , 41 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 48 – 50 , 54 , 58 – 60 , 65 , 68 , 70 ], examine the callers’ feedback on the hotline/helpline/call center [ 30 , 31 , 36 – 38 , 52 , 59 , 60 , 62 , 69 , 70 ], and assess hotline/helpline/call center volunteers’ experiences [ 53 , 66 , 71 ].…”

“…About half of the hotlines/helplines/call centers ( n = 22) [ 29 – 31 , 37 , 41 – 45 , 47 , 49 , 51 , 54 – 56 , 60 – 62 , 64 , 65 , 70 , 71 ] were active seven days a week. The access time for other hotlines/helplines/call centers were different and included six days a week [ 48 ], five days a week [ 16 , 58 , 63 , 66 , 68 ], working days and Saturday [ 67 ], Monday to Wednesday [ 59 ], (seven days a week, then Monday to Saturday, then Monday to Friday) [ 20 ] and the access time was not reported in 12 articles [ 17 , 22 , 36 , 38 – 40 , 46 , 50 , 52 , 53 , 57 , 69 ].…”

“…About one third of the hotlines/helplines/call centers were active 24 h a day [ 29 , 30 , 37 , 41 – 45 , 47 , 51 , 54 – 56 , 61 , 70 ]. The rest of them were available 16 h a day from Monday to Friday, and 9 h a day on Saturday and Sunday [ 71 ],15.5 h a day [ 52 ], 14 h on working days and 7 h on Saturdays [ 67 ], 12 h a day [ 16 , 20 , 31 , 38 , 40 , 49 , 50 , 64 , 68 ], 9 h a day [ 62 , 63 , 65 ], 8 h a day [ 58 , 63 ], 6 h a day [ 55 , 60 ], 4 h a day [ 39 , 59 ], 3 h a day [ 66 ], and the number of hours were not reported in 8 studies [ 17 , 22 , 36 , 46 , 48 , 53 , 57 , 69 ].…”