A Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess Feasibility and Acceptability of Telephone-Based Psychosocial Interventions in Individuals who Attempted Suicide

BACKGROUND: Brief contact interventions such as telephone-based contacts appear to be useful in individuals who attempted suicide. Most studies of telephone-based contacts in such individuals typically consisted of frequent phone reminders for adherence to treatment and seeking help for mental health issues. Telephone-based psychosocial interventions that incorporate elements of supportive and problem-solving strategies are of interest in Indian settings due to their potential application in mitigating the wide mental health gap. Feasibility studies of telephone-based psychosocial interventions could help ascertain the difficulties that arise in the implementation of such treatments. METHODS: A multicentric randomized controlled trial (RCT) is currently underway in general hospital settings in two Indian cities to study the efficacy of telephone-based psychosocial interventions in individuals with a recent suicide attempt, with routine telephone contacts (TCs) serving as the comparator. Prior to that RCT, this feasibility study was conducted to assess the acceptability of the telephone-based intervention and telephone contacts. Feasibility was assessed using dropout rates. Acceptability was assessed using participant-rated Likert-based visual analog scores from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating greater acceptability. RESULTS: Dropout rates and mean acceptability scores for telephone-based psychosocial interventions were 38.5% and 8.63, while those for TCs were 41.7% and 7.57, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Telephone-based psychosocial interventions are feasible and acceptable in individuals with a recent suicide attempt.