BMJ  2005;331 (8 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7520.0

Postcards can save lives

Sending postcards (asking about wellbeing and offering an invitation to contact the hospital) to people who have tried to poison themselves reduces the number of repeated attempts—but doesn't reduce the proportion making repeated attempts. Carter and colleagues (p 805) randomised 772 patients who were treated in a hospital for deliberate self poisoning to receive eight postcards during the year after the incident, plus standard care, or to standard care only. The people who were sent the postcards made only half as many repeat attempts to poison themselves as the controls. Subgroup analysis showed that the intervention predominantly reduced the number of attempts made by women.

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Relevant Article

Postcards from the EDge project: randomised controlled trial of an intervention using postcards to reduce repetition of hospital treated deliberate self poisoning

Gregory L Carter, Kerrie Clover, Ian M Whyte, Andrew H Dawson, and Catherine D'Este
BMJ 2005 331: 805. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Post cards either way

David Jolley
bmj.com, 11 Oct 2005 [Full text]

Thank God that others have discovered postcards

Melvyn H Brooks
bmj.com, 12 Oct 2005 [Full text]