The post is offered as a fixed term, full-time appointment for two years to start 1 March 2012 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Self-harm (SH) is a major predictor of suicide. As a result, this project aims to investigate whether a new, low intensity psychosocial intervention, the volitional help sheet (VHS), has utility in its management. This randomised trial will address three research questions: (1) does a VHS reduce the number of people who re-present to hospital with SH in the six months following an index episode of SH?; (2) does a VHS reduce the number of SH episodes per person in the six months following an index episode of SH?; and (3) what is the incremental cost of the VHS per SH event averted? Participants who have presented to hospital following suicidal behaviour will be randomised into either the intervention (treatment as usual + VHS) or control (treatment as usual) arms of the trial. At Time 2, six months later, we will determine whether the intervention had an effect on re-presentation to hospital for self-harm.

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