Effectiveness of A Suicide Prevention Application, Mental Health Check-In : A Case Study of Khon Kaen

Abstract

          This research had the objective to study the effectiveness of the suicide prevention application “Mental Health Check-In” for at-risk persons by conducting a case study of Khon Kaen Province. The researcher first conducted a review of the related documents and programs to screen people for mental health problems by using the Mental Health Check-In application.  Next, the researcher collected data by in-depth interviews with ten public health administrators at the regional and implementation level, representing seven agencies under the Department of Mental Health and a related network of the Ministry of Public Health. The key informants were working on mental health programs in Khon Kaen Province. 
          This study found that the Mental Health Check-In application is an improved instrument to screen individuals for serious mental health disorders.  The application also is a tool to facilitate the collection of data and preliminary processing of the relevant information.  That information provides a reliable basis for referral of individuals to the appropriate care providers and to enroll them in the mental health care and treatment system. The application also increases the effectiveness of analysis, planning, and troubleshooting.
          The factors for the effectiveness of the Mental Health Check-In application are: 1) the ease of use and the speed of the application, which led to the accuracy, wider identification, and accessibility for persons who need the screening services; 2) the opportunities for the clients to access to the preliminary mental health assessment services; 3) the ability for the front-line health workers to identify the severe cases or those that were in need but were unable to access the technology; and 4) the duration of service operations and the amount of budget allocated from the state. This research also found that there were still limitations and obstacles to the use of the application, which included the ease of accessibility to personal data of the clients by unauthorized persons, the difficulty for health care personnel to access the data, limited tracking, and monitoring of the health condition of the clients, and a shortage of health care personnel who knew how to utilize the application.