From efficacy to effectiveness: managing organisational change to improve health services for young people with deliberate self harm behaviour.

Abstract

Repeat Deliberate Self Harm is a recognised risk factor for completed suicide and therefore reduction by effective health service response represents a valid contribution to suicide prevention. However, only a small fraction of people with deliberate self harm presentations to general health settings actually reach specialist mental health follow-up appointments. Therefore, even if responses at that point are known to be effective they do not make a significant contribution to reducing repeat self-harm overall. We describe health system organisational change strategies to improve health service engagement for the target group, and present data demonstrating the effectiveness of these strategies.