Suicide Prevention in Rural Veterans During High-risk Care Transition Scenarios

June 21, 2024 updated by: Brian Shiner, White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center
In the United States (U.S.), suicide is a major public health concern. U.S. Veterans who live in rural areas may be at even higher risk for suicide than their urban counterparts. Available evidence indicates that suicide risk in rural U.S. Veterans is most concentrated during high-risk care transition scenarios such as discharge from an emergency room. There is limited knowledge about effective interventions to address suicide risk. There is a critical need to develop targeted interventions that address suicide risk during high-risk care transition periods. To be effective, these interventions should address key contributors to suicide risk such as reduced engagement in treatment. This clinical trial evaluates the effect of a suicide prevention intervention to support treatment engagement during high risk transition periods such as discharge from an emergency room.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

In the United States (U.S.), death by suicide is a notable public health concern and a particular problem in the U.S. Veteran population. Furthermore, U.S. Veterans who live in rural areas may be at even greater risk for suicide than their urban counterparts. These risks may be concentrated during times of transition in their treatment such as after emergency room discharge. Multiple interventions have been developed to target suicide risk during periods of transition but there is limited evidence regarding their efficacy in preventing suicide. Furthermore, a key contributor to suicide risk may include limited or no engagement in care. Therefore, developing interventions to support engagement in treatment may be effective ways to help mitigate suicide risk and promote participation in care. This clinical trial studies an intervention that is designed to help support treatment engagement during periods of high risk in Veterans who live in rural areas. The trial will recruit Veterans from various treatment settings such as the emergency room, residential drug treatment programs, primary care mental health clinics, and/or inpatient psychiatric units and follow them for a period of six months. The trial evaluates not only the effect of the intervention on suicidal behavior but also measures of engagement.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
60

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Vermont
      • White River Junction, Vermont, United States, 05009
        • White River Junction VA Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Inpatient psychiatric unit:

  • Per the unit psychiatrist, hospitalization was due to concerns about acute risk for self-harm including suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and/or admitting provider deemed the patient was at imminent risk for self-harm
  • Be a Veteran eligible to receive VA services
  • Be able to speak English

Inpatient medical-surgical unit:

  • Received a mental health consultation during admission on the medical-surgical unit
  • Per the consult-liaison psychiatrist, patient was recently (within past three months of hospitalization) or is currently at risk for self-harm including suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, or self-harm
  • Be a Veteran eligible to receive VA services; be 18 years or older; be able to speak English

Residential Rehabilitation Center (RRC) program:

  • Per the RRC treatment team, patient was recently (within past three months of hospitalization) or is currently at risk for self-harm including suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, or self-harm
  • Be a Veteran eligible to receive VA services; be 18 years or older; be able to speak English

Primary Mental Health Clinic (PMHC):

  • The patient was recently seen for a new evaluation in the WRJ PMHC clinic or a local integrated care clinic that are part of the White River Junction VA Medical Center Catchment Area (i.e., Burlington, Littleton, Rutland, Bennington, Brattleboro, or Keene) by either the mental health nurse practitioner, the psychologist, the psychiatry resident or a psychiatric attending
  • The patient is currently at risk for self-harm including suicidal ideation of any severity, suicide attempt, or self-harm; This could have been identified based on a formal suicide assessment scale such as the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale or by clinician assessment as documented in the intake note
  • Be a Veteran eligible to receive VA services; be 18 years or older; be able to speak English

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unable to provide informed consent
  • Potentially vulnerable populations including prisoners, institutionalized patients, or involuntarily committed patients

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Suicide Prevention Program
Behavioral: Suicide Prevention Program Structured care management to improve adherence to discharge planning.
Behavioral: Suicide Prevention Program
Structured care management to improve adherence to discharge planning.
No Intervention: Usual Care
Standard care that occurs as part of mental health treatment

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS)
Time Frame: Change from Baseline BSS at 1-, 3-, and 6-months
The BSS ranges from 0-38. While there is no established BSS cutoff score to classify suicide risk, there is evidence that higher scores on the BSS correspond to more severe suicidal ideation and that a change of five points or more on the total BSS scores may be clinically relevant. Mean scores at baseline were calculated.
Change from Baseline BSS at 1-, 3-, and 6-months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The Beck Scale for Hopelessness (BHS)
Time Frame: Change from Baseline BHS at 1-, 3-, and 6-months
The BHS ranges from 0-20 with higher scores associated with increased hopelessness.
Change from Baseline BHS at 1-, 3-, and 6-months
Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
Time Frame: Number of events according to the CSSR-S at 1-, 3-, and 6-months
The C-SSRS is a valid and reliable scale that includes a seven-item subscale that asks patients to self-report on actual attempts, interrupted attempts, aborted attempts, and preparatory acts or behaviors.
Number of events according to the CSSR-S at 1-, 3-, and 6-months
The Partners in Health Scale (PIH) (Self Management)
Time Frame: Change from Baseline PIH at 1-, 3-, and 6-months
The PIH is used to measure patient self-management of chronic conditions. It is a 12-item instrument, each question measured on a Likert scale of 0-8. Scores range from 0-72. Higher scores indicate better self-management. Mean scores at baseline were calculated.
Change from Baseline PIH at 1-, 3-, and 6-months
The Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-15: Thwarted Belongingness (INQ-15 TB)
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-month, 3-month, 6-month
The INQ-15 is a 15-item self-report scale that measures thwarted belongingness (9 items) and perceived burdensomeness (6 items). Each item is measured on a 7-point Likert scale, with higher scores suggesting lower perceived connectedness. The score range for the entire scale is 15-105, with the score range for thwarted belongingness being 7-49. Mean scores at baseline were calculated.
Baseline, 1-month, 3-month, 6-month
Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire 15: Perceived Burdensomeness (INQ-15 PB)
Time Frame: Change from Baseline INQ-15 PB at 1-, 3-, and 6-months
The INQ-15 is a 15-item self-report scale that measures thwarted belongingness (9 items) and perceived burdensomeness (6 items). Each item is measured on a 7-point Likert scale, with higher scores suggesting lower perceived connectedness. The score range for the entire scale is 15-105, with the score range for perceived burdensomeness being 7-49. The perceived burdensomeness Mean scores at baseline were calculated.
Change from Baseline INQ-15 PB at 1-, 3-, and 6-months
Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS)
Time Frame: Change from Baseline MSPSS at 1-, 3-, and 6-months
The MSPSS is a 12-item self-reported scale that is designed to ask about support from several sources including friends, family and significant others. The scale has been shown to have good internal and test-retest reliability as well as good validity. The score range is 1-7 with higher values indicating increased perception of social support.
Change from Baseline MSPSS at 1-, 3-, and 6-months
Suicide-Related Coping Scale (SRCS)
Time Frame: Change from Baseline SRCS at 1-, 3-, and 6-months
This scale includes 17 questions related to a patient's perception of their ability to cope with suicidal thoughts. Each item is assessed using a 5-point Likert scale. The scale includes two subscales including an External Coping subscale and an Internal Coping Subscale. The score range for the entire scale is 0-68 with the External Coping being 0-28 and the Internal Coping being 0-28. Higher scores indicate increased perception of suicide-related coping. Mean scores at baseline were calculated.
Change from Baseline SRCS at 1-, 3-, and 6-months
App Engagement Scale (AES) - for Mobile Applications
Time Frame: Change in AES scores at 1- and 6-months
The App Engagement Scale (AES) is adapted from the end-user version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS). The AES has been studied in patients with mental health conditions, has been shown to have good internal reliability, and is strongly related to app engagement. All items are rated on a 5-point scale from "1.Inadequate" to "5.Excellent" with scores ranging from 0 - 40. Higher scores are associated with increased perceived quality of the mobile application.
Change in AES scores at 1- and 6-months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
US Department of Veterans Affairs

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Brian R Shiner, MD, MPH, White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 21, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 31, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 9, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 12, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 13, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 26, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 21, 2024

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 1439938

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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