Information and Communication Technology Use in Suicide Prevention: Scoping Review

BACKGROUND: The use of information and communication technology (ICT) in suicide prevention has progressed rapidly over the past decade. ICT plays a major role in suicide prevention, but research on best and promising practices has been slow. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to explore the existing literature on ICT use in suicide prevention to answer the following question: what are the best and most promising ICT practices for suicide prevention? METHODS: A scoping search was conducted using the following databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, and IEEE Xplore. These databases were searched for articles published between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2018. The five stages of the scoping review process were as follows: identifying research questions; targeting relevant studies; selecting studies; charting data; and collating, summarizing, and reporting the results. The World Health Organization suicide prevention model was used according to the continuum of universal, selective, and indicated prevention. RESULTS: Of the 3848 studies identified, 115 (2.99%) were selected. Of these, 10 regarded the use of ICT in universal suicide prevention, 53 referred to the use of ICT in selective suicide prevention, and 52 dealt with the use of ICT in indicated suicide prevention. CONCLUSIONS: The use of ICT plays a major role in suicide prevention, and many promising programs were identified through this scoping review. However, large-scale evaluation studies are needed to further examine the effectiveness of these programs and strategies. In addition, safety and ethics protocols for ICT-based interventions are recommended.