Suicide and Telehealth Treatments: A PRISMA Scoping Review

Background: This PRISMA scoping review explored worldwide research on the delivery of suicide-specific interventions through an exclusive telehealth modality. Research over telehealth modalities with suicidal individuals highlights the importance of facilitating participants' access to treatments despite location and circumstances (e.g., rural, expenses related to appointments, etc.). Aim: The review sought evidence of outcomes of trials or projects in which both the patient and therapist attended sessions conjointly and openly discussed suicide over a telehealth modality (e.g., phone, zoom). Method: To explore this topic the authors searched for research trials and quality improvement projects using Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, Ovid PsycINFO, EBSCO Social Services Abstracts, and Web of Science on 3/3/2021. Results: Nine different articles were included that each spanned distinct treatments, with eight being research studies and one being a quality improvement project. Limitations: Publications featuring ongoing or upcoming research in which complete study results were not available did not meet inclusion criteria for this review. Conclusion: Several important research gaps were identified. While this approach has been largely understudied, exclusive telehealth delivery of suicide-specific interventions has great potential for the prevention of suicidality, especially in the era of COVID-19 and beyond.