Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Apr 1, 2019
Open Peer Review Period: Apr 5, 2019 - Apr 19, 2019
Date Accepted: May 16, 2019
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Effectiveness of Internet-Based Self-Help Interventions for Suicide Prevention: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
Suicide ideation is a highly prevalent condition. Several barriers lead to a gap in healthcare provision, which might be addressed by providing internet-based self-help interventions (ISIs). Current evidence suggests that ISIs for mental disorders might only be effective in reducing suicidal ideation if they specifically target suicidal thoughts or behaviors.
Objective:
The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to investigate the effectiveness of ISIs which directly target suicidal thoughts or behaviors.
Methods:
We will conduct a sensitive systematic literature search in PsycINFO, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and the Centre for Research Excellence of Suicide Prevention database (CRESP). Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness of ISIs for suicide prevention will be included. Interventions must be delivered primarily in an online setting; mobile-based interventions and interventions targeting gatekeepers will be excluded. Suicide ideation will be the primary outcome; secondary outcomes will be completed suicides, suicide attempts, depressiveness, anxiety and hopelessness. Study quality will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool 2.0. We will provide a narrative synthesis of included studies. If studies are sufficiently homogenous, we will conduct a meta-analysis of the effectiveness on suicide ideation and, if possible, we will evaluate publication bias using funnel plots. We will evaluate the cumulative evidence in accordance with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework (GRADE).
Results:
This review is in progress, with findings expected by August 2019.
Conclusions:
This systematic review and meta-analysis focuses on the effectiveness of ISIs for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. It will provide guidance to clinical practice and encourage further research by synthesizing the best available evidence. Clinical Trial: The registration has been submitted to PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. The registration number will be handed in as soon as it is available.
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.