Temporal fluctuations in suicide calls to a crisis intervention service

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Public Health
• Emergency Services

Background:

• Crisis intervention centers receive numerous suicide-related calls.
• Understanding temporal patterns in these calls is crucial for resource allocation.
• Previous research has not fully explored the temporal dynamics of different call types.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze temporal variations in suicide-related calls received by a crisis intervention center.
• To investigate variations based on month, day of the week, and day of the month.
• To assess the potential utility of these temporal patterns for crisis center staffing and understanding suicide risk.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of temporal variations in suicide-related calls.
• Categorization of calls into overall, personal suicidal ideation, and third-person suicide attempt.
• Examination of call frequency by month, day of the week, and day of the month.

Main Results:

• Significant variations in overall calls, ideation calls, and third-person calls were observed across months and days of the week.
• Ideation calls and suicide attempt calls showed variations by day of the month.
• Temporal patterns in third-person calls mirrored those of completed suicides, suggesting a potential indicator of elevated risk.

Conclusions:

• Suicide-related call volumes exhibit predictable temporal fluctuations.
• These fluctuations are significant enough to optimize crisis center staff scheduling.
• Third-person calls may indicate a heightened suicide threat compared to first-person calls.