title: Effect of phone call versus face-to-face follow-up on recurrent suicide attempts prevention in individuals with a history of multiple suicide attempts.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To evaluate the efficacy of different ways of communications on prevention of suicidal reattempt, we compared the efficacy of phone call versus face-to-face follow-up in patients with previous attempt.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a randomized controlled clinical trial, 55 suicide reattempters who were admitted to the poisoning emergency were divided into phone call (29 patients) and face-to-face (26 patients) groups randomly. They were followed at 8 occasions: 2ndand 4thweeks, and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8thmonths. The suicidal reattempt, suicidal thought, hope, and interest of the patients were assessed on each occasion, and the patients were guided to visit by a therapist, if needed. The findings were analyzed by Mann-Whitney, Chi-square, Cochran, Friedman, and independentt-tests using SPSS 20.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The status of "hope" and "interest" improved in both groups, but it showed more significant difference in the face-to-face group. Suicidal thoughts in both groups decreased over time, and this was more significant in the face-to-face group. However, we did not found any significant difference in the frequency of the suicidal reattempts between two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Face-to-face versus phone call follow-up of suicide attempters can significantly alleviate suicidal thoughts and improve hopes and interests.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences Research Center, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Ghafur
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Mousavi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences Research Center, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amini
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Behavioral Sciences Research Center, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Behzad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mahaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences Research Center, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bagherian-Sararoudi
keywords: Face to face; follow-up; phone call; recurrent; suicide attempt