Mobile app empowers at‑risk users to beat suicide risk ​

Revolutionizing Post‑Suicide Care Through Digital Therapeutics

Digital health has long supplied tools for patients grappling with chronic conditions. From simple dietary trackers to post‑operative pain monitors, mobile apps have emerged as an accessible platform for medical support, especially during the pandemic era.

Otx‑2022: A Breakthrough Collaboration Between Ohio State and Yale

The latest milestone comes from a joint effort between the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and the Yale School of Medicine. Their research team created OTX‑2022, an app designed to reduce suicide‑recurrence rates among individuals recently discharged from a medical facility following an attempt to end their life.

App Features and Target Population

• Provides 12 educational modules, each lasting 10‑15 minutes.
• Targets at‑risk patients averaging 28 years of age.
• Includes interactive CBT (cognitive‑behavioral therapy) sessions focused on suicide prevention.

Study Results

After weeks of rigorous testing among patients who had previously attempted suicide, the research team found:

• Adjusted follow‑up suicide attempt rate decreased by 58.3% in the group receiving the digital therapeutic intervention.
• Results underscore the effectiveness of CBT delivered via a mobile platform for a population prone to recurring suicidal behaviors.

Publication and Impact

The findings were published in JAMA Network Open, a peer‑reviewed medical journal, and represent a significant step forward in mental‑health tele‑medicine.

Key Takeaway

Digital therapeutic apps such as OTX‑2022 demonstrate that mobile‑based interventions can meaningfully decrease suicide recidivism. This success paves the way for broader adoption of technology‑driven mental health solutions.

Rising Suicide Rates in the United States

Over Two Decades of Escalating Suicide

The United States has witnessed a steady climb in suicide rates for more than twenty years. This troubling trend places suicide among the top causes of death for adolescents as young as ten years old.

Nonfatal Suicidal Behavior

• Each year, more than a million individuals experience nonfatal suicidal behavior.
• Nearly half of these individuals ultimately receive hospitalization.

Key Takeaways

• Suicide remains a leading cause of death in the US, affecting even the youngest populations.
• Emergency departments serve as a critical response point for nearly half of nonfatal suicidal episodes.

How was the app tested? 

Groundbreaking App Erases Suicidal Thoughts

Randomized Trial of 339 Psychiatric Patients

Researchers tested a mobile application in a randomized clinical trial involving 339 participants admitted to psychiatric hospitals in the United States between 2022 and 2024. All participants were admitted with known elevated suicide risks.

Long‑Term Decline in Ideation

The overarching benefit of using the app was that it led to a sustained reduction in suicidal ideation. The study’s data confirm that the application consistently lowered patients’ thoughts and urges to self‑harm over the course of the trial.

Quote by Craig Bryan, First Author

“Although suicide‑specific therapy is highly effective for reducing suicidal thoughts and urges, finding therapists who know how to do this life‑saving therapy after leaving the hospital can be challenging. OTX‑202 provides a possible solution to that problem,”

Craig Bryan, a professor in Ohio State University’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, highlighted the app’s potential to bridge a critical gap in care after hospital discharge.

Challenges in Post‑Hospital Support

• Limited availability of therapists trained in suicide‑specific interventions.
• Difficulty in maintaining continuous support after hospital discharge.
• Need for scalable, accessible solutions that can be delivered via digital platforms.

OTX‑202 Offers a New Path

• Provides an easily accessible tool that can be used by patients while still hospitalized.
• Facilitates continuous monitoring and self‑management of suicidal thoughts.
• Serves as a potential bridge to ongoing, specialist suicide‑specific therapy once patients leave the hospital.

By combining real‑time therapeutic support with evidence‑based strategies, the OTX‑202 app demonstrates a promising step toward reducing suicidal ideation and improving post‑hospital mental health outcomes.

Reimagining Post‑Hospital Suicide Care with OTX‑2022

Experts highlight that the interval following hospital discharge after a suicide attempt represents the highest risk window, demanding constant vigilance and compassionate support. The OTX‑2022 mobile application was engineered precisely to bridge that void, delivering tailored guidance and essential assistance to individuals at elevated danger.

Assessing Clinical Gains with CGI Scale

Participants who engaged with the app underwent evaluation using the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale, a standard tool for measuring symptom severity and treatment progress. Results revealed that users of the mobile platform were significantly more likely to exhibit clinical improvement, marking the application’s efficacy during the initial test phase.

Safety Outcomes and Suicide Prevention

The research paper reports that, within the study, a single suicide death occurred in the control group, while no suicide deaths were recorded among users of the digital therapeutic. This outcome underscores the potential of OTX‑2022 to enhance both clinical improvement and safety for those in post‑hospital care.