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Published Online: 27 February 2024

Making Decisions About Calling 988 Versus 911: Understanding End-User Views Before the Launch of 988

Leah G. Pope, Ph.D. [email protected], Ashnee Patel, M.P.H., Amy C. Watson, Ph.D., and Michael T. Compton, M.D., M.P.H.Authors Info & Affiliations
Publication: Psychiatric Services
Volume 75, Number 7
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20230016
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Abstract

Objective:

The 988 telephone number was implemented in July 2022 as an easily accessible way to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and has been envisioned as one step in building a more robust crisis care continuum in the United States. This study aimed to describe how various stakeholders anticipated using 988 compared with the most widely known crisis line: 911.

Methods:

Focus groups (N=15, with 76 total participants) were conducted in three counties in New York State between October and November 2021, before the launch of 988. Five stakeholder groups were included: mental health services consumers, family members of consumers, community members, mental health providers, and crisis call takers. Thematic analysis was used to code and analyze all focus group transcripts.

Results:

Participants anticipated that key uses for 988 would be accessing support during a crisis, obtaining connections to local resources and services, and receiving alternatives to law enforcement response. However, participants continued to articulate uses for 911 during a mental health crisis, especially for situations involving “safety concerns.”

Conclusions:

The broad expectations for 988 suggest that the line must be flexible and responsive to a range of needs and that communities should clearly define what is available through 988. More implementation research is needed to ensure a detailed understanding of those whom 988 is serving, how the line meets callers’ needs, and the line’s potential for connecting people to needed services.

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Supplementary Material

File (appi.ps.20230016.ds001.pdf)

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric Services
Go to Psychiatric Services
Psychiatric Services
Volume 75 • Number 7 • July 01, 2024
Pages: 646 - 651
PubMed: 38410036

History

Received: 12 January 2023
Revision received: 20 November 2023
Accepted: 30 November 2023
Published online: 27 February 2024
Published in print: July 01, 2024

Keywords

  1. 988
  2. 911
  3. Crisis hotlines
  4. Crisis response
  5. Mental health crisis
  6. Crisis intervention

Authors

Affiliations

Leah G. Pope, Ph.D. [email protected]
Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York City (Pope, Patel, Compton); School of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit (Watson).
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Ashnee Patel, M.P.H.
Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York City (Pope, Patel, Compton); School of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit (Watson).
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Amy C. Watson, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York City (Pope, Patel, Compton); School of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit (Watson).
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Michael T. Compton, M.D., M.P.H.
Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York City (Pope, Patel, Compton); School of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit (Watson).
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Notes

Send correspondence to Dr. Pope ([email protected]).

Competing Interests

The authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

Funding Information

Grant support for this research was provided by the Sozosei Foundation.

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