Peer-Delivered Written Versus Electronic Suicide Safety Planning in the Emergency Department

Background: Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and safety planning is a best practice to reduce the risk of suicide. It is currently unknown if electronic safety planning with a phone app results in effective safety planning compared to paper versions. Aims: To evaluate electronic safety planning vs. a paper safety plan in the ED setting. Methods: A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted in which 30 participants were randomized 1:1 into traditional paper safety planning versus safety planning on a phone app (My3). Outcomes of interest included safety plan completeness, safety plan quality, and return ED visits within 3 months. Findings/Results: Despite taking less time to complete, paper safety planning was more complete than electronic safety planning. There were no significant differences in quality or return ED visits within 3 months. Limitations: This study was limited to a small sample size by our local IRB. Conclusions: Given that plan completeness has previously shown mixed associations with clinical outcomes, further research is needed to refine and evaluate electronic formats.