Prevention of repetition of suicide attempts via coordinated care following hospital discharge: a pilot study in Flanders

The pilot study was carried out with the support of the Flemish Ministry of Well-being and Health (2003-2005) by the Suicide Prevention Project of the Mental Health Centres in the Province Limburg (Belgium), the University of Hasselt, and supervised by the Unit for Suicide Research (Ghent University). The aim of the study was to examine the effects of improved cooperation between hospitals, GPs and Mental Health Centres after the discharge of suicide attempters from general hospitals. Timely involvement of GPs was provided through a follow-up system. GPs had received written information, a website and attended project seminars. The main research questions were: was GP-patient contact established within 14 days after discharge, and does this result in improved aftercare and improved well-being six months later. Findings from four intervention hospitals were compared with two control hospitals. The major positive finding was that GP involvement in the intervention group increased to 71.2%, compared with 46.2% in the control group. However, after six months there were no statistical differences regarding levels of well-being or repetition of suicide attempts between the two groups. Nevertheless, GPs reported the desire to be more involved in the aftercare and to receive training in suicide prevention. Language: en