The 3114: A new professional helpline to swing the French suicide prevention in a new paradigm

Abstract

Helpline services have been identified as an important component of suicide prevention strategies. While the Covid-19 pandemic have raised major concerns about severe and longstanding mental health consequences, the French ministry of Health has recently decided to implement a national professional helpline dedicated to suicide prevention. The 3114 has been launched on the 1st of October 2021. Accessible 24/7 from any point of the national territory, it offers remote assistance to individuals in distress or worried for a close one, professionals and bereaved persons. Spread in regional call centers, medically supervised nurses and psychologists provide callers with listening, evaluation, intervention (including possible dispatch of a rescue team) and, whenever needed, referral to adapted services. At the same time, the “3114 centers” contribute to the implementation of the regional suicide prevention strategies by stimulating the development of actions, promoting resources, monitoring at-risk events, and collaborating with professional and associative stakeholders. From a public health perspective, the inception of the 3114 has settled the conditions for a new paradigm in the French suicide prevention strategy. By dedicating specific resources to promote and organize interactions between stakeholders, it supports a major shift from the juxtaposition of efficient but segregated actions to the creation of an integrated prevention system. Embedded to the project, multidisciplinary and multilevel research will be carried out to evaluate the implementation, impact, and transferability of the 3114 model, conceived both as a helpline and territorial prevention strategy.