Development and Evaluation of a Web-Based Resource for Suicidal Thoughts: NowMattersNow.org.

BACKGROUND: Nearly half of people who die by suicide see a health care provider in the month before their death. With the release of new care guidelines, detection of suicidal patients will likely increase. Providers need access to suicide-specific resources that can be used as part of immediate, brief interventions with a suicidal patient. Web-based suicide prevention resources have the potential to address this need. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe the development of the NowMattersNow.org website as a resource for individuals with suicidal thoughts and to evaluate the utility of the site via user experience surveys. METHODS: NowMattersNow.org is an online video-based free public resource that provides evidence-based teachings, examples, and resources for managing suicidal thoughts and intense emotions focused largely around skills from dialectical behavior therapy. Developed with assistance from mental health consumers, it is intended to address gaps in access to services for suicidal patients in health care systems. Visitors stay an average of a minute and a half on the website. From March 2015 to December 2017, a user experience survey measured self-reported changes on a 1 (not at all) to 5 (completely overwhelming) scale regarding intensity of suicidal thoughts and negative emotions while on the website. Longitudinal regression analyses using generalized estimating equations evaluated the magnitude and statistical significance of user-reported changes in suicidal ideation and negative emotion. In secondary analyses, user-reported changes specific to subgroups, including men aged 36 to 64 years, mental health care providers, and other health care providers were evaluated. RESULTS: During the period of analysis, there were 138,386 unique website visitors. We analyzed surveys (N=3670) collected during that time. Subsamples included men aged 36 to 64 years (n=512), mental health providers (n=460), and other health care providers (n=308). A total of 28% (1028/3670) of survey completers rated their suicidal thoughts as a 5 or "completely overwhelming" when they entered the website. We observed significant reductions in self-reported intensity of suicidal thoughts (-0.21, P<.001) and negative emotions (-0.32, P<.001), including decreases for users with the most severe suicidal thoughts (-6.4%, P<.001), most severe negative emotions (-10.9%, P<.001), and for middle-aged men (-0.13, P<001). Results remained significant after controlling for length of visit to website (before the survey) and technology type (mobile, desktop, and tablet). CONCLUSIONS: Survey respondents reported measurable reductions in intensity of suicidal thoughts and emotions, including those rating their suicidal thoughts as completely or almost completely overwhelming and among middle-aged men. Although results from this user-experience survey administered at one point in time to a convenience sample of users must be interpreted with caution, results provide preliminary support for the potential effectiveness of the NowMattersNow.org website as a tool for short-term management of suicidal thoughts and negative emotions.

Understanding Why Patients May Not Report Suicidal Ideation at a Health Care Visit Prior to a Suicide Attempt: A Qualitative Study.

OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to understand why patients may not report suicidal ideation at a health care visit prior to a suicide attempt. METHODS: Electronic health record data from Kaiser Permanente Washington were used to identify patients who reported having no suicidal ideation on question 9 of the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire and who subsequently made a suicide attempt (≤60 days). Semistructured interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by using a combination of directed (deductive) and conventional (inductive) content analysis to validate and further explore reasons why patients may not report suicidal ideation prior to a suicide attempt. RESULTS: Of 42 adults sampled, 26 agreed to be interviewed, of whom about half were women (N=15) and a majority was white (N=20), with ages ranging from 18 to 63. Key themes were that patients who attempted suicide after having reported no thoughts of self-harm were either not experiencing suicidal ideation at the time of screening or feared the outcome of disclosure, including stigma, overreaction, and loss of autonomy. An additional theme that emerged from the interviews included reports of heavy episodic drinking at the time of the suicide attempt, particularly when suicide was completely unplanned. Patients also identified important aspects of interactions with health care system providers that may facilitate disclosure about suicidal ideation. CONCLUSIONS: Nonjudgmental listening and expressions of caring without overreaction among providers may help patients overcome fear of reporting suicidal ideation. Screening for heavy episodic drinking may help identify individuals who make unplanned suicide attempts.