Stakeholder views regarding a planned primary care office-based interactive multimedia suicide prevention tool

Area of Science:

• Mental Health
• Public Health
• Suicidology

Background:

• Nearly 50% of men who die by suicide interact with a primary care clinician (PCC) in the month preceding death.
• A significant gap exists in men disclosing suicidal ideation to PCCs, hindering timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To gather stakeholder perspectives for developing a multimedia suicide prevention program.
• To activate middle-aged men experiencing suicidal thoughts to engage with PCCs.

Main Methods:

• Conducted semi-structured interviews with 44 diverse stakeholders, including suicide attempt survivors, family members, PCCs, and advocates.
• Utilized grounded theory to code interview transcripts and identify key themes.

Main Results:

• Identified two main themes: program structure/delivery (preference for plain language, media over text) and content (PCC preparedness, fear of hospitalization, influence of masculinity on help-seeking).
• A previously unreported barrier: fear of hospitalization upon disclosure of suicidal thoughts.

Conclusions:

• Stakeholder input was crucial in designing a primary care-tailored multimedia suicide prevention tool.
• Findings highlight the need for additional suicide prevention strategies addressing disclosed barriers, particularly the fear of hospitalization.