Designing for Life: The Art of Digital Safety Planning Interventions
How Wellness by Design Is Transforming Suicide Prevention for Young Adults
In an era where digital solutions increasingly intersect with mental health care, thoughtfully designed interventions represent a promising frontier in suicide prevention.
The concept of “wellness by design” — creating digital tools that inherently promote wellbeing through their very architecture — has found powerful application in automated safety planning interventions for young adults experiencing suicidal thoughts.
Recent research on digital safety and young adults published in JMIR Formative Research highlights how digital safety planning tools can transcend traditional barriers to care when crafted with a deep understanding of young adults' lived experiences.
By prioritizing self-empowerment, social connection, transparency, and privacy, these interventions don’t merely replicate clinical tools in digital form — they reimagine suicide prevention through the lens of accessibility, autonomy, and genuine connection to meet young people where they are in moments of crisis.
JMIR Study Results
Automated Digital Safety Planning Interventions for Young Adults: Qualitative Study Using Online Co-design Methods presents research on developing automated digital safety planning interventions for young adults experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
1. Background
🔸Young adults have the highest rates of suicidal thoughts but the lowest rates of formal mental health treatment due to various barriers.
2. Study Purpose
🔸Researchers conducted focus groups with 30 young adults (18–24) who had recent suicidal thoughts to identify needs and preferences for an SMS text messaging-based safety planning tool.
3. Key Findings
🔸Young adults want interventions that empower self-management of symptoms and support acquiring coping skills
🔸Social connection is critical. Tools should help leverage existing relationships with trusted people
🔸Transparency about how the intervention works and its limitations is essential
🔸 Strong privacy practices and data security are essential
🔸 Usability features like approachable tone, customization options, and straightforward navigation are necessary
4. Desired Features
🔸Participants wanted self-tracking capabilities, coping skill suggestions, reminders, editing safety plans as needs change, and ways to involve trusted others.
5. Implications
🔸Digital safety planning tools must support building skillfulness for coping with suicidal crises, deepening interpersonal connections, maintaining transparency about system operation, and ensuring data privacy to expand access to care effectively.
The JMIR research suggests automated text-based interventions could be acceptable to young adults if designed with their specific needs in mind, potentially filling an essential gap in suicide prevention.
Building Bridges to Hope
As we navigate the complex landscape of mental health care, digital safety planning interventions represent not just technological innovation but a fundamental shift in how we approach suicide prevention.
By centering young adults’ voices and experiences in the design process, these tools become more than just digital versions of clinical documents — they transform into personalized lifelines that empower, connect, and support.
The research highlighted here reminds us that effective mental health technology must be built on empathy, understanding, and respect for individual autonomy. As these innovations continue to evolve, they offer hope that we can bridge critical gaps in care, reaching young people in crisis with interventions that resonate with their needs, preferences, and lived realities.
In designing for wellness and safety, we need to acknowledge that technology alone isn’t the answer — but thoughtfully crafted digital tools, informed by those they aim to serve, can play a vital role in creating pathways to safety, healing, and hope.
Do You Need Help Right Now?
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 911, visit the nearest emergency room, or contact the following national resources.
- Text 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line
- Text 678678 to reach The Trevor Project
- Text or call 988 to reach the 988 Lifeline
Derek E. Baird, M.Ed., is the former Chief Youth Officer at BeMe Health and the award-winning producer of BeingMe: A Teen Mental Health Podcast. A Disney Inventor Award recipient and co-author of ‘The Gen Z Frequency,’ Derek brings 25+ years of expertise in children’s media, technology, and educational technology.
His research, patents, and innovations in youth digital culture, online learning, and digital trust and safety have shaped industry practices and appeared in numerous peer-reviewed publications.
