Suicide aftercare services

Discharge from hospital following a suicidal crisis is a crucial time for the provision of high-quality aftercare. Providing aftercare services has been demonstrated to reduce the risk of further suicide attempts, deaths, and to increase the likelihood that people will seek professional support when experiencing suicidal thoughts. this Evidence Check aims to provide a review of the evidence for suicide aftercare services and effective characteristics of these services, focusing on comprehensive aftercare services being provided in Australia.
This review identified 53 relevant studies in the peer reviewed literature. As a search of the grey literature did not uncover a comprehensive overview of available services, an online survey of PHNs was undertaken to address this gap. Most studies found that comprehensive aftercare programs and brief intervention programs are effective (63% and 70% of studies respectively). There have been no comprehensive dismantling studies published which evaluate the effectiveness of individual components or characteristics of suicide aftercare programs. However, this review identified components and characteristics that were common to programs that effectively reduced suicide-related outcomes such as reattempts.

Martin A, Chakouch C, Josifovski N, McGill K, Kartal D, Leckning B, Hill N, Shand F. Suicide aftercare services: an Evidence Check rapid review brokered by the Sax Institute (www.saxinstitute.org.au) for the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, 2023.