The Effectiveness of Mobile Apps for Monitoring and Management of Suicide Crisis: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Suicide risk is a multifaceted phenomenon, and many risk factors are involved in its complexity. In the last few decades, mental health apps have spread, providing economic and affordable strategies to prevent suicide. Therefore, the aim of this review is to identify original studies on mobile apps that target suicidal crises. The review follows PRISMA guidelines, searching through four major electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, PsycInfo and Web of Science) for relevant titles/abstracts published from January 2010 to May 2022. It includes original studies that explicitly analyze mobile apps for suicide prevention. A total of 32 studies met the inclusion criteria. Sixteen studies assessed the feasibility and acceptability of mobile apps, ten studies assessed the efficacy of mobile apps in preventing suicide, and six studies described randomized control trial protocols not yet implemented. Generally, the apps were judged by participants to be acceptable and helpful, and several improvements to enhance the functionality of apps were suggested. The efficacy of mobile apps, although limited and assessed with very heterogenous methods, was confirmed by most of the studies. Mobile apps could represent a helpful supplement to traditional prevention tactics, providing real-time monitoring of at-risk persons, personalized tools to cope with suicidal crises, and immediate access to specific support.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide ideation and suicide attempts in a sample of psychiatric inpatients.

There has been little research reported regarding both suicide ideation and suicide attempts during the COVID-19 pandemic and government lockdown restrictions in Italy, one of the countries most affected by the pandemic. We investigated whether the frequency of suicide ideation and suicide attempts differed between psychiatric patients admitted to a psychiatric unit before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and government lockdown restrictions. We also assessed psychiatric diagnosis, length of hospitalization, and types of admission. We collected data on 632 psychiatric patients admitted to a public psychiatric clinic. Patients were divided into two different groups according to their admission before or during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results showed that only suicide attempts, but not suicide ideation, were more frequent in psychiatric patients admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic than before. Furthermore, mood disorder diagnoses were more frequent during the COVID-19 pandemic than before the pandemic. The types of admission and the mean length of hospitalization did not differ between the two groups. In conclusion the present study results adds consistent knowledge on the phenomenon of suicide during the challenging time of the pandemic, pointing to continuing effort in suicide prevention measures.

Thoughts of Death, Depression and Guilt in a Healthcare Worker Who Infected Her Husband with SARS-CoV-2: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND: The worldwide spread of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has exposed healthcare workers (HCWs) to physical and mental disorders both directly and indirectly related to the pandemic. Italy was the first European country affected by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and Italian HCWs have presented adverse psychological outcomes related to work and emotional overload and the fears of becoming infected and infecting others, particularly loved ones. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 61-year-old HCW who likely infected her husband with SARS-CoV-2, leading to his death. We assessed the depressive and anxious symptoms that the patient experienced after the death of her husband, which were characterized by a deep sense of guilt, psychological pain, and thoughts of death. CONCLUSION: In our opinion, our case emphasizes the fact that HCWs need greater mental health assistance, particularly those who are heavily involved in the care of patients and who have possible risk factors for psychiatric symptoms.