News Finding: Our best investments are not being made.
Paper Finding: For example, randomised controlled trials could combine structured risk assessment with other aspects of care, such as comprehensive follow-up planning or building therapeutic alliance.
News Context: We understand how disturbing death by suicide can be for the survivors: the family members and friends and even the loss to the greater society. But if we want to do something clinically effective as well as capitalize on financial and human resources, we need to be more strategic. Our best investments are not being made.
Paper Context: Given that scales continue to be widely used by clinicians, future studies could consider if they could be combined with other approaches to increase their effectiveness. For example, randomised controlled trials could combine structured risk assessment with other aspects of care, such as comprehensive follow-up planning or building therapeutic alliance. Further studies of this kind could help to determine aspects of risk scales that might be useful in the management of self-harm.