American journal of preventive medicine
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The Research Prioritization Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention conducted a comprehensive literature review of suicide prevention/intervention trials to assess the quality of the scientific evidence. ⋯ There are many promising suicide prevention/intervention trials, but research findings are often inconclusive because of methodologic problems. Methodologic problems across systematic reviews include not conducting hand searches, not surveying gray literature, and being unable to aggregate data across studies. Methodologic problems with the scientific quality of the prevention/intervention trials include paucity of information on sample demographic characteristics, poorly defined outcomes, and excluding actively suicidal participants. Suggestions for ways to improve the quality of the systematic reviews and suicide preventions/interventions are provided.
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In 2012, the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention's Research Prioritization Task Force (RPTF) released a series of Aspirational Goals (AGs) to decrease suicide deaths and attempts. The RPTF asked experts to summarize what was known about particular AGs and to propose research pathways that would help reach them. This manuscript describes what is known about the benefits of access to health care (AG8) and continuity of care (AG9) for individuals at risk for suicide. Research pathways are proposed to address limitations in current knowledge, particularly in U.S. healthcare-based research. ⋯ Evidence exists to support optimism regarding future suicide prevention, but knowledge is limited. Future research is needed on U.S. healthcare services and system enhancements to determine which of these approaches can provide empirical evidence for reducing suicide.
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Follow-up services are an important component of a comprehensive, national strategy for suicide prevention. Increasing our knowledge of effective follow-up care has been identified as an Aspirational Goal by The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention's Research Prioritization Task Force. ⋯ This paper identifies several breakthroughs that would be helpful for advancing this area of research and describes a comprehensive research pathway for achieving both short- and long-term research objectives.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomized trial of Text2Quit: a text messaging program for smoking cessation.
Text messaging programs on mobile phones have shown some promise in helping people quit smoking. Text2Quit is an automated, personalized, interactive mobile health program that sends text messages to offer advice, support, and reminders about quitting smoking. ⋯ These results provide initial support for the relative efficacy of the Text2Quit program.
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The goal of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention is to reduce suicide and suicide attempts in the U. S. by 40% in the next decade. In this paper, a public health approach is applied to suicide prevention to illustrate how reductions in youth suicide and suicidal behavior might be achieved by prioritizing research in two areas: (1) increasing access to primary care-based behavioral health interventions for depressed youth and (2) improving continuity of care for youth who present to emergency departments after a suicide attempt. Finally, some scientific, clinical, and methodologic breakthroughs needed to achieve rapid, substantial, and sustained reductions in youth suicide and suicidal behavior are discussed.