Implementation of caring contacts using patient feedback to reduce suicide-related outcomes following psychiatric hospitalization.

Introduction: Suicide risk is substantially elevated following discharge from a psychiatric hospitalization. Caring Contacts (CCs) are brief communications delivered post-discharge that can help to improve mental health outcomes.

Method: This three-phase, mixed-method quality-improvement study revised an existing CC intervention using iterative patient and community feedback. Inpatients (n = 2) and community members (n = 13) participated in focus groups to improve existing CC messages (phases 1 and 2). We piloted these messages among individuals with a suicide-related concern following discharge from an inpatient psychiatric hospitalization (n = 27), sending CCs on days 2 and 7 post-discharge (phase 3). Phase 3 participants completed mental health symptom measures at baseline and day 7, and provided feedback on these messages.

Results: Phase 1 and 2 focus group participants indicated preferences for shorter, more visually appealing messages that featured personalized, recovery-focused content. Phase 3 participants demonstrated reductions in depressive symptoms at day-7 post-discharge (-6.4% mean score on Hopkins-Symptom-Checklist, -9.0% mean score on Entrapment-Scale). Most participants agreed that CC messages helped them feel more connected to the hospital and encouraged help-seeking behavior post-discharge.

Conclusion: This study supports the use of an iterative process, including patient feedback, to improve CC messages and provides further pilot evidence that CC can have beneficial effects.