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A culturally adapted manual-assisted problem-solving intervention (CMAP) for adults with a history of self-harm: a multi-centre randomised controlled trial

Husain, Nusrat; Kiran, Tayyeba; Chaudhry, Imran Bashir; Williams, Christopher; Emsley, Richard; Arshad, Usman; Ansari, Moin Ahmed; Bassett, Paul; Bee, Penny; Bhatia, Moti Ram; Chew-Graham, Carolyn; Husain, Muhammad Omair; Irfan, Muhammad; Khaliq, Ayesha; Minhas, Fareed A.; Naeem, Farooq; Naqvi, Haider; Nizami, Asad Tamizuddin; Noureen, Amna; Panagioti, Maria; Rasool, Ghulam; Saeed, Sofiya; Bukhari, Sumira Qambar; Tofique, Sehrish; Zadeh, Zainab F.; Zafar, Shehla Naeem; Chaudhry, Nasim

Authors

Nusrat Husain

Tayyeba Kiran

Imran Bashir Chaudhry

Christopher Williams

Richard Emsley

Usman Arshad

Moin Ahmed Ansari

Paul Bassett

Penny Bee

Moti Ram Bhatia

Muhammad Omair Husain

Muhammad Irfan

Ayesha Khaliq

Fareed A. Minhas

Farooq Naeem

Haider Naqvi

Asad Tamizuddin Nizami

Amna Noureen

Maria Panagioti

Ghulam Rasool

Sofiya Saeed

Sumira Qambar Bukhari

Sehrish Tofique

Zainab F. Zadeh

Shehla Naeem Zafar

Nasim Chaudhry



Abstract

Background
Self-harm is an important predictor of a suicide death. Culturally appropriate strategies for the prevention of self-harm and suicide are needed but the evidence is very limited from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a culturally adapted manual-assisted problem-solving intervention (CMAP) for patients presenting after self-harm.

Methods
This was a rater-blind, multicenter randomised controlled trial. The study sites were all participating emergency departments, medical wards of general hospitals and primary care centres in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, and Quetta, Pakistan. Patients presenting after a self-harm episode (n = 901) to participating recruitment sites were assessed and randomised (1:1) to one of the two arms; CMAP with enhanced treatment as usual (E-TAU) or E-TAU. The intervention (CMAP) is a manual-assisted, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)-informed problem-focused therapy, comprising six one-to-one sessions delivered over three months. Repetition of self-harm at 12-month post-randomisation was the primary outcome and secondary outcomes included suicidal ideation, hopelessness, depression, health-related quality of life (QoL), coping resources, and level of satisfaction with service received, assessed at baseline, 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month post-randomisation. The trial is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT02742922 (April 2016).

Results
We screened 3786 patients for eligibility and 901 eligible, consented patients were randomly assigned to the CMAP plus E-TAU arm (n = 440) and E-TAU arm (N = 461). The number of self-harm repetitions for CMAP plus E-TAU was lower (n = 17) compared to the E-TAU arm (n = 23) at 12-month post-randomisation, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.407). There was a statistically and clinically significant reduction in other outcomes including suicidal ideation (− 3.6 (− 4.9, − 2.4)), depression (− 7.1 (− 8.7, − 5.4)), hopelessness (− 2.6 (− 3.4, − 1.8), and improvement in health-related QoL and coping resources after completion of the intervention in the CMAP plus E-TAU arm compared to the E-TAU arm. The effect was sustained at 12-month follow-up for all the outcomes except for suicidal ideation and hopelessness. On suicidal ideation and hopelessness, participants in the intervention arm scored lower compared to the E-TAU arm but the difference was not statistically significant, though the participants in both arms were in low-risk category at 12-month follow-up. The improvement in both arms is explained by the established role of enhanced care in suicide prevention.

Conclusions
Suicidal ideation is considered an important target for the prevention of suicide, therefore, CMAP intervention should be considered for inclusion in the self-harm and suicide prevention guidelines. Given the improvement in the E-TAU arm, the potential use of brief interventions such as regular contact requires further exploration.

Citation

Husain, N., Kiran, T., Chaudhry, I. B., Williams, C., Emsley, R., Arshad, U., …Chaudhry, N. (in press). A culturally adapted manual-assisted problem-solving intervention (CMAP) for adults with a history of self-harm: a multi-centre randomised controlled trial. BMC Medicine, 21(1), Article 282. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-02983-8

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 18, 2023
Online Publication Date Jul 31, 2023
Deposit Date Aug 7, 2023
Journal BMC Medicine
Publisher Springer Verlag
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 21
Issue 1
Article Number 282
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-02983-8
Keywords Problem-solving; Low-income setting, Suicide prevention, Cognitive behaviour therapy, Self-harm, RCT, CMAP