Do individuals follow up with mental health services after a suicide attempt? Findings from the assertive management of attempted suicide service, Bengaluru, India

Objective: There is limited information from India on whether individuals follow up with mental health services after a suicide attempt. The objective of this study was to determine follow-up rates after a suicide attempt with mental health services of those individuals treated as part of the assertive management of attempted suicide service in a general hospital in Bengaluru, India.

Materials and methods: Records from 284 persons from January 2016 to December 2016 were analyzed to ascertain their follow-up rates with mental health services after a suicide attempt.

Results: After discharge, 25% individuals followed up on a single occasion with mental health services. Individuals with a psychiatric diagnosis were significantly more likely to follow up with mental health services as compared to those without a psychiatric diagnosis (P < 0.011, odds ratio: 2.875, confidence interval at 95%: 1.276-6.481). 90.8% were contacted through telephone as part of aftercare.

Conclusions: Most individuals in India, especially those without a psychiatric diagnosis, do not follow up with mental health services after a suicide attempt. Periodic telephonic contacts are a useful aftercare strategy to reach out to this high-risk population. Limitation of this study is that findings are from an urban general hospital setting.