Mental Health Service Utilization by Referrals from a Helpline for Suicide Prevention in Mumbai, India

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Background : Suicide is a global health problem which is highly underreported and under treated. Though suicide intervention helplines have been studied the pattern of utilization of a suicide helplines by those referred to the facility has not been studied. Methodology : In the present study we have studied the pattern of utilization of a helpline in a community mental health clinic in the city of Mumbai. The study sample was patients who called the helpline and later attended the out patient facility of the clinic. Data was collected in semi-structured format and statistically analyzed using computer software. Results : 15149 calls were received by the helpline. Of the 1391 patients reporting suicidal ideation (59.42%) only 718 opted for psychiatric evaluation. 18.3% of patients with suicidal ideas had a past suicidal attempt while 82.6% had a psychiatric diagnosis. Majority of patients were belonging to psychotic and mood disorder categories. Financial and educational stressors were reported as the main stressors leading to suicidal ideas. Conclusions : A helpline offers definite advantage for patients with suicidal ideation to access mental health services. A helpline is an economical service that serves as a contact point to bring more people at an early stage to mental health care facilities.