Caring Contacts to Reduce Psychiatric Morbidity Following Hospitalization During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot...

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry and Mental Health
• Public Health Interventions
• Clinical Trials

Background:

• Caring Contacts is an emerging intervention designed to mitigate distress and suicide risk in individuals after acute psychiatric care.
• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated evaluating mental health support delivery methods.
• Post-psychiatric discharge is a critical period for continued patient support and risk management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy of Caring Contacts in reducing mental health symptoms and suicidal ideation (SI) in recently discharged psychiatric patients during a pandemic.
• To compare the benefits of Caring Contacts against a control communication.
• To explore potential differential effects in subgroups, including individuals living alone or diagnosed with depression.

Main Methods:

• A pilot randomized clinical trial (N=100) conducted at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto.
• Participants were randomized to receive either Caring Contacts or a control communication via email or mail on days 4, 21, and 56 post-discharge.
• Mental health symptoms were measured using the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) at baseline and follow-up points; analysis of variance was used for comparisons.

Main Results:

• Both groups showed worsening mental health symptoms post-discharge; however, the Caring Contact group exhibited attenuated worsening in total symptom severity (24.2%) and SI (72.6%) on day 4 compared to the control group.
• No significant differences were found between groups at any time point.
• Exploratory analyses revealed no significant interaction effects for subgroups (depression diagnosis or living alone).

Conclusions:

• This pilot study indicates the feasibility and acceptability of the Caring Contacts intervention.
• Preliminary findings suggest potential benefits of Caring Contacts in the immediate post-discharge period, particularly for suicidal ideation.
• Larger-scale trials are recommended to confirm these findings and establish the intervention's effectiveness in reducing distress and suicide risk.