International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health

International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health

Health Technology Assessment of the Psychotherapy Effect on Prevention of Suicide and Self-Harm: A Rapid Review of Secondary Studies

Authors
Parisa Mehdizadeh 1
Mohammadreza Mobinizadeh 2
Nooredin Dopeykar 3
Hosein Amini 4
Ali Farzaneh 5
Majid Mashalchi 6
Alireza Kiani 7
1 Health Management Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Young Researchers and Elites Club, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
3 Health Management and Economics Sciences Re-search Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4 Health Management Research Centre, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
5 Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran
6 Armed Forces Medical Services Insurance Organization, Tehran, Iran
7 Department of Health Service Management, School of Management and Economics, Science and Re-search Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report, acute depression disorders are the second largest health problem in the world which can cause disability and imposes huge costs on individuals and societies. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of using psychotherapy in patients with depression for prevention of suicide and self harm commitment.

Methods: Cochrane library (Issue 10, 2012) and CRD (Centre for Review and Dissemination) were searched using Mesh. Studies that compared psychotherapy with different alternative methods such as antidepressant drugs and used outcomes such as self-harm or suicide rates were included.

Results: Eighteen articles were included in this review. Most of them showed that using psychotherapy as only suicide preventive method cannot be sufficiently effective, so that in the one of the included meta-analysis was shown that the effect of psychotherapy on suicide imagination and the risk of suicide were small. In terms of cost-effectiveness, it seems that MACT (Manual-assisted cognitive behavior therapy) is a cost-effective method in prevention of self-harm.

Conclusion: Generally, it seems that using combination of therapeutic methods will increase the effectiveness of suicide and self-harm prevention methods.
Keywords
depression
Suicide
psychotherapy
Health Technology Assessment
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  • Receive Date 22 January 2014
  • Revise Date 01 March 2014
  • Accept Date 01 March 2014