Implementation strategies in suicide prevention: a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Implementation Science
• Public Health
• Mental Health Interventions

Background:

• Effective suicide prevention interventions require robust implementation strategies.
• Knowledge gaps exist regarding commonly used and effective strategies in suicide prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of implementation strategies in suicide prevention studies.
• To evaluate the types of implementation strategies used in published literature.

Main Methods:

• Scoping review of studies published between 2013 and 2022.
• Inclusion of studies focused on suicide prevention with at least one implementation strategy.
• Data synthesis using descriptive statistics and narrative synthesis.

Main Results:

• Iterative evaluation, training, and education were the most common implementation strategies.
• Most studies did not directly measure suicide behavior outcomes.
• Few studies rigorously tested the effectiveness of implementation strategies.

Conclusions:

• Implementation science is crucial for advancing suicide prevention.
• Future research should utilize hybrid designs and systematically document strategies.