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Evaluating the acceptability and effectiveness of a french safety planning type interventions protocol, a post suicide attempt intervention - Scientific Reports

Death by suicide affects approximately 800,000 people per year worldwide, and a history of suicide attempt is the primary risk factor for future suicide. Safety Planning-Type Interventions (SPTI) is a brief intervention, validated by the Stanley team, as a strategy for preventing suicidal reoccurrence. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of this management by healthcare professionals and the acceptability by patients in suicidal crisis in a French post-emergency department setting. This was an observational cross-sectional study. A selected sample of 80 participants, who received the SPTI, completed a semi-structured interview comprising open-ended questions about the acceptability of the intervention. Feasibility was assessed by the possibility of implementing the intervention according to healthcare professionals. 94% of participants agreed to receive the SPTI. Participants seemed to find the safety plan acceptable in the majority of cases (with a satisfaction rate of 85.1%), and they believed that this intervention could be useful in the future in 81.1% of cases. Regarding the professionals, they appeared to find the intervention feasible, with a satisfaction rate of 80.5%. Finally, the presence of depressive symptoms seemed to be the only clinical parameter that could negatively influence the patient’s acceptability of the intervention, and the presence of alcohol dependency symptoms affected its feasibility. The SPTI is a validated brief intervention in suicidal crisis for the prevention of recurrence. This study demonstrates feasibility and acceptability in the French population.