Technology-Assisted Systems Change for Suicide Prevention

Summary

Effective prevention of suicide among adult emergency department (ED) patients hinges on an indispensable component: the ability to translate evidence-based interventions into routine clinical practice on a broad scale and with fidelity to the intervention components so they can have a maximum public health effect. However, there are critical barriers that prevent such translation, including a lack of trained clinicians, competing priorities in busy EDs, and incompatibility between requirements of evidence-based interventions (such as completing telephone coaching with patients after the ED visit) and the workflow and infrastructure typically present in most EDs. The proposed new intervention will address these barriers by building a suite of technologies that will make it easier to implement the Emergency Department Safety Assessment and Follow-up Evaluation (ED-SAFE), an evidence-based suicide intervention targeting perceived social support, behavioral activation and impulse control, revolutionizing the field's ability to scale and implement this intervention and acting as a model for efforts to implement other existing and emerging suicide interventions.

Conditions

• Suicide
• Suicide, Attempted

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

In-person TASCS

In-person clinician delivery of the intervention, including the Safety Planning Intervention, connection to best-match behavioral health resources, and development of an outpatient treatment plan by a research clinician, facilitated by the TASCS Clinician App.

BEHAVIORAL

Telehealth TASCS

Telehealth clinician delivery of the intervention, including the Safety Planning Intervention, connection to best-match behavioral health resources, and development of an outpatient treatment plan by a research clinician, facilitated by the TASCS Clinician App.

BEHAVIORAL

Self-administered TASCS

Self-administration of the intervention, including the Safety Planning Intervention, facilitated by the TASCS ED Patient App.

BEHAVIORAL

Follow-up care

Counseling calls and access to the Post-ED Patient and Family App for three months after the index presentation. These resources allow the patient and family to review their safety plan, life plan, and outpatient care plan

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

  collaborator NIH

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Massachusetts, Worcester

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Celine Larkin, PhD · University of Massachusetts, Worcester

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-02-01

Primary Completion

2022-12-31

Completion

2022-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations