Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Suicide.ca, Quebec's Digital Suicide Prevention Strategy Platform: Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study.

BACKGROUND: In 2017, the Quebec government assigned the Association québécoise de prévention du suicide (AQPS) to develop a digital suicide prevention strategy (DSPS). The AQPS responded by creating a centralized website that provides information on suicide and mental health, identifies at-risk individuals on the internet, and offers direct crisis intervention support via chat and text. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of suicide.ca, Quebec's DSPS platform. METHODS: This study used a cross-sectional descriptive design. The study population comprised internet users from Quebec, Canada, who visited the suicide.ca platform between October 2020 and October 2021. Various data sources, such as Google Analytics, Firebase Console, and Customer Relation Management data, were analyzed to document the use of the platform. To understand the profile of suicide.ca users, frequency analyses were conducted using data from the self-assessment module questionnaires, the intervention service's triage questionnaire, and the counselors' intervention reports. The effectiveness of the platform's promotional activities on social media was assessed by examining traffic peaks. Google Analytics was used to evaluate the effectiveness of AQPS' strategy for identifying at-risk internet users. The impact of the intervention service was evaluated through an analysis of counselors' intervention reports and postintervention survey results. RESULTS: The platform received traffic from a diverse range of sources, with promotional efforts on social media directly contributing to the increased traffic. The requirement of a user account posed a barrier to the use of the mobile app, and a triage question that involved personal information led to a substantial number of dropouts during the intervention service triage. AdWords campaigns and fact sheets addressing suicide risk factors played a crucial role in driving traffic to the platform. With regard to the profile of suicide.ca users, the findings revealed that the platform engaged individuals with diverse levels of suicidal risk. Notably, users of the chat service displayed a higher suicide risk than those who used the self-assessment module. Crisis chat counselors reported a positive impact on approximately half of the contacts, and overall, intervention service users expressed satisfaction with the support they received. CONCLUSIONS: A centralized digital platform can be used to implement a DSPS, effectively reaching the general population, individuals with risk factors for suicide, and those facing suicidal issues.

Seven key insights from critical realism and their implications for ecological thinking and action in community psychology.

This article explores some of the possible links between community psychology and critical realism, a relatively new approach to the philosophy of science that has received little attention from community psychologists. Critical realism is presented in relation to seven key insights that can be linked to fundamental tenets of the ecological approach in community psychology. These insights are: (1) A complex reality exists independently of our ideas about it, and this reality is knowable, although imperfectly. (2) Reality is composed of a complex and stratified hierarchy of open systems. (3) Causality is best understood in terms of causal processes that may or may not be directly observable or generalizable; these processes involve complex interactions among generative mechanisms and contextual conditions. (4) Theory and theorizing about causal processes are central to both scientific explanation and practical action. (5) Theory exists at multiple levels of abstraction, ranging from models to metatheory. (6) A diversity of methods can provide evidence in the search for causal processes operating in context. (7) As social scientists, we have an obligation to use social science knowledge to promote human flourishing. Although these insights may be familiar to many community psychologists who adopt an ecological approach to their work, we suggest that clearly articulating these principles can provide more solid foundations for inquiry in the field. We conclude the article by highlighting how critical realism may help to bridge the research-practice gap in community psychology and similar social sciences.

Systematic Review of Research and Interventions With Frequent Callers to Suicide Prevention Helplines and Crisis Centers.

Background: Helplines worldwide have frequent callers who may occupy a large proportion of call volume. Therapeutic gain from frequent calling has been questioned. We conducted this review to identify the characteristics of frequent callers and to compile recommendations about how best to help them. Method: Using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) standards, we searched for all empirical research in English and French from inception to May, 2020 in PubMed, PsycInfo, and the CRISE library. Results: We identified 738 manuscripts and retained 27 for analyses. Nine provided no definition of frequent callers; nine mixed frequent callers with repeat callers (>1 calls); nine concerned frequent callers (≥8 calls/month). The limited data suggest frequent callers are similar to other callers and often experience mental health problems, loneliness, and suicide risk. From recommendations in all 27 studies, we identified 10 suggestions to better manage and help frequent callers that merit validation. Limitations: The small number of empirical investigations and the diversity of their goals and methodologies limit generalizations. Although recommendations for helping callers may have face validity, empirical data on their effectiveness are scarce. Conclusion: Rather than focusing on reducing call frequency, we should empirically evaluate the benefits of interventions for frequent callers with different calling patterns, characteristics, and reasons for calling.

[The Development Process of the New Quebec Digital Suicide Prevention Strategy: Suicide.ca]. / Processus d'élaboration de la nouvelle Stratégie québécoise numérique en prévention du suicide : Suicide.ca.

In Quebec, nearly 3 persons still take their own lives every day, even though this number has been declining since 2000. Several institutional and community actors are involved in suicide prevention and several initiatives have contributed to the reduction of suicide rates. Despite this hard work, additional efforts are needed to intensify service offers and resource access to better reach people at risk of suicide not reached by actual services. For many years, several countries have been implementing digital technologies to reach them. In Quebec, there were delays in adoption of digital technologies for suicide prevention. In this context, the Health and Social services Ministry mandated Association québécoise de prévention du suicide (AQPS) to develop a Digital Strategy for Suicide Prevention (DSPS). From the beginning, AQPS wanted to anchor DSPS's development in a decision-making process based on scientific, contextual and experiential evidence. A process, derived from implementation science, was therefore put in place to actualize this intent. Implementation science is defined as the science of implementing programs in real-world settings. It is recognized as contributing to the successful implementation of new programs while promoting a rigorous evaluation of their impacts and outcomes. Objectives This article aims to: 1) present the process that was put in place to facilitate DSPS design, implementation, and evaluation; and 2) describe the DSPS action model and the DSPS. Method The Knowledge to Action (KTA) framework is central to the design, implementation, and evaluation of DSPS. This framework proposes a cyclical process in 7 iterative phases, each with its own methodological aspects and data collections Results The results section illustrates the concrete actions taken at each phase of the KTA process and the highlights that emerge from the analysis of the data collected. This section also presents the DSPS. Conclusion Optimal conditions to promote the implementation of DSPS, its use and its sustainability have been put in place. The current implementation and evaluation of this implementation and its impacts will allow to assess the capacity of DSPS to achieve its main objectives: to provide information about suicide, to identify suicidal individuals, to increase the visibility of resources, and to offer help to suicidal individuals who respond less to traditional resources.

Effect of helping suicidal people using text messaging: An evaluation of effects and best practices of the Canadian suicide prevention Service's text helpline.

BACKGROUND: Empirical research on best practices in suicide prevention text intervention is scarce. We present analyses of exchanges concerning suicide on the Canadian Suicide Prevention Service (CSPS) text helpline. OBJECTIVE: To describe the users of the CSPS text service, explore the perceived impact of the service, and identify intervention characteristics associated with a greater likelihood of positive or negative effects of the exchanges. METHODS: We analyzed data from 112 transcripts using quantitative content analysis, counselor assessments of the calls, and responses by callers to pre-call questionnaires. RESULTS: Counselors infrequently conducted a complete suicide risk assessment, but almost always thoroughly explored resources and discussed possible solutions to callers' problems. An operational action plan was rarely developed. Only one technique, reinforcing a strength or a positive action of the caller, was a significant predictor of positive effects of the call. The number of words exchanged during the intervention was positively correlated with the completeness of explorations of resources and solutions and the development of an action plan. CONCLUSIONS: High-quality effective interventions can be delivered via text messages. Using reinforcement of strengths and encouraging longer calls is recommended. Intervention effects were comparable to those reported in studies of telephone and chat services.

Psychometric validation of the French version of the Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIDAS-FR).

The purpose of this study was to validate in French the Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIDAS) using an online community survey that was completed by 2304 French-speaking Quebec participants (adolescents and adults). The SIDAS-FR demonstrated high internal consistency (α = .83), a unifactorial structure, and strong convergent validity with relevant constructs. Cutoff scores of ≥13 for moderate severity and ≥20 for high severity of suicidal ideations were optimal. The excellent psychometric properties of the French-Canadian version of the SIDAS support its use as an effective tool for online screening of suicidal ideations, for both adolescents and adults.

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.

The Darknet and suicide.

CONTEXT: The Internet contains both public content ("Surface Web"), and private content ("Deep Web") sometimes hosted on exclusive networks ("Darknets") only accessible using dedicated software such as TOR (The Onion Router). This software makes it almost impossible to identify its users. Information media have reported on suicide-related aspects of Darknets, for example when poisons that can be used to kill oneself are offered for sale (Le Garff et al., 2016) when users discuss ways to kill oneself in anonymous forums (Ferrara, 2016; Franceschi-Bicchierai, 2015) and suicides that follow bullying or "doxing" (online divulgation without consent of intimate personal information) (Bartlett, 2015). Several recent studies have analyzed the nature of suicide content on the Surface Web, but to date, there have been no systematic investigations of suicidal content available on Darknets. OBJECTIVES: The object was to document the nature and accessibility of suicide-related information available on the TOR Darknet or via the TOR software. METHODS: We replicated the methodology used by Biddle et al. (2008, 2016) in their studies of the Surface Web, using TOR on the Darknet. We identified and chose nine search engines used on the TOR Darknet: TORCH the TOR search engine, Notevil, Ahmia, Candle, Hidden Wiki, Darknet (onion.link), Duckduckgo and Grams. Two research assistants independently coded the first 30 results of searches using the keywords, "suicide" and "suicide methods". RESULTS: There were 476 "hits" in the search for "suicide" and "suicide method" using TOR, with fewer sites dedicated to suicide (4%), compared to the Surface Web (23.1%) (Biddle et al., 2016). Over half of the sites proposed by the TOR search engines (252, 52.9%) were outdated, inaccessible or not containing content pertinent to suicide or suicide methods. Several of the TOR search engines provided access to forums ("chat boards") where suicide was a topic (70, 14.8%). These were usually pro-suicide, are blocked or filtered by most of the Surface Web engines (e.g. Google). DISCUSSION: Persons concerned with suicide prevention should conduct further investigations of pro-suicide forums that are accessible using TOR and their users, comparing them with the Surface Web. New strategies to prevent suicide may need to be developed for Darknets.

Cluster Analysis of Characteristics of Persons Who Died by Suicide in the Montreal Metro Transit.

BACKGROUND: Suicides occur in metro systems worldwide and patterns vary in different urban transit networks. AIMS: This study presents an in-depth analysis of 117 suicides in the Montreal Metro from 2000 to 2008 based on data obtained from coroners' investigations. METHOD: Cluster analyses were performed to identify characteristics of groups of people who kill themselves in the Montreal Metro. We also compared changes in characteristics with data from 1986 to 1995. RESULTS: We identified five clusters of suicidal persons that describe patterns of characteristics of individuals who died by suicide in the metro that may be useful for prevention. Comparisons of suicides during 2000-2008 with data from a previous study of coroners' investigations of Montreal Metro suicides during 1986-1995 indicate changes in age, isolation, types of problems, and geographic patterns. CONCLUSION: Characteristics of metro suicides may be specific to localities and can change over time. Their understanding may facilitate the development of prevention strategies tailored to these different profiles.