Brief interventions and contacts for individuals with suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

**Background.** Brief interventions and contacts (BICs) for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) are characterized by short treatment duration, low costs, and easy delivery. As BICs have shown promise in preventing STB [@Doupnik2020], a detailed assessment across different populations and settings is warranted. Here, we systematically reviewed the current literature on randomized controlled trials (RCT) on BICs for STBs in at-risk adults and assessed BIC-related suicide re-attempts, severity of suicidal thoughts, and MH service use at follow-up. **Methods.** We followed the PRISMA guidelines such that two independent researchers searched multiple databases (PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, ProQuest, and PsycINFO), screened and extracted data from RCTs that assessed BICs in adults with STB with up to four sessions. The search was conducted until December 2022 and identified 16 RCTs that met inclusion criteria. **Results.** The included RCTs offered BICs to 11,380 participants (aged 36.73, SD = 12.36, N female = 6550, 63%) with 16 RCT arms (89%) reporting data from clinical populations and two (11%) from non-clinical. We found that BICs were effective in reducing further suicide attempts during the follow-up period (estimated average logOR was -0.34, 95% CI: -0.55, -0.14), but had no significant effect in decreasing suicidal thoughts or increasing MH service use at follow-up compared with control. **Conclusion.** With four or less sessions, including brief follow-up contacts in some cases, BICs show promise for treatment and prevention of STBs in clinical and non-clinical populations particularly in the prevention of further suicide attempts