A recent study reveals that when mental health professionals like nurses and social workers actively engage with high-risk, severely depressed patients through intensive management strategies, they can significantly reduce suicide risk and improve treatment adherence.
Kyung Hee University Hospital announced on Tuesday that a research team, including Professors Baek Jong-woo and Lee Sang-min from their Psychiatry Department, along with Professor Lee Hwa-young from Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, published these findings in the prestigious medical journal JAMA Network Open.
The study employed hospital-based Assertive Case Management (ACM), a treatment support program where mental health professionals actively intervene. They adjust contact frequency based on the patient’s suicide risk and manage care through various methods, including in-person consultations, phone counseling, and digital communication.
Conducted from January 2021 to July 2024, the study involved 314 outpatients with major depressive disorders at high suicide risk from six university hospitals. Researchers divided participants into a standard treatment group (156 patients) and an ACM adjunct treatment group (158 patients), observing them for six months. They used the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) to evaluate treatment effectiveness.
The results were striking: after six months, the ACM group showed an average decrease of 9.22 points in C-SSRS scores, substantially outperforming the standard treatment group’s 7.23-point reduction. This indicates a marked improvement in mitigating suicide risk. The ACM group also demonstrated superior outcomes in key symptom assessments for depression, anxiety, and subjective loneliness.
Notably, the study completion rate, a key indicator of treatment adherence, was significantly higher in the ACM group at 83.5% (132 participants) compared to 72.4% (113 participants) in the standard treatment group. This suggests that regular contact and trust-building positively influence patient engagement and ongoing care.
Professor Baek emphasized that this study provides compelling evidence for a medical-based management model in suicide prevention. It hopes to see intensive case management services covered by health insurance in outpatient settings, establishing a cornerstone for suicide prevention policies and creating a comprehensive mental health service framework.
The research was supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Patient-Centered Medical Technology Optimization Research Project (PACEN). Professor Baek, serving as the vice-chair of the National Safety Commission under the President, continues to play a crucial role in shaping government policies on life safety and suicide prevention.