Background: Suicide is a global health concern. In the UK, Scotland has the highest suicide rate. Feedback from lived experience and suicide prevention stakeholders in Scotland has identified a key gap in suicide prevention activities: the lack of 24-hour peer driven online support for people who are suicidal.
Objective: This pilot study evaluates the feasibility, acceptability, utility and reach of a suicide prevention website (Surviving Suicidal Thoughts) specifically designed to support residents in Scotland through the provision of personal testimony videos of individuals with lived experience.
Methods: A peer-driven website was developed specifically to support residents of Scotland experiencing suicidal thoughts. The website included resources (e.g. videos, written guidance) to help reduce distress, normalise experiences and challenge distressing thoughts. The website was promoted online via leading social media channels and Google Advertising. Evaluation of the website was based on website engagement, marketing strategy and direct web user feedback.
Results: Findings indicated that individuals who visited the website ranged from less than 18 years to over 70 years old and with visitors originating from all regions of Scotland. Based on feedback from 101 web users, visiting the website was associated with a significant reduction in suicidal thoughts (P= 0.03). Reasons for visiting the website were varied. Marketing data implied that people were more likely to engage with adverts which they felt were more personal and visitors to the website were more likely to engage with videos which corresponded to their age.
Conclusions: A peer-led website may help residents of Scotland who are experiencing suicidal thoughts. Web-based interventions may have considerable reach in Scotland both in terms of age and geographic area. Future work would benefit from exploring the effectiveness of this website based on a larger participant sample with website modifications guided by the principles of social learning theory.