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Public Messaging to Increase Treatment Seeking for Veterans at Risk for Suicide

NCT04784663 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 355

Last updated 2025-10-14

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The risk for suicide increases by nearly 50% in the first year that service members transition from the military to civilian life underscoring the need for effective strategies to facilitate help seeking among Veterans vulnerable to self-directed violence. Yet despite a great need for treatment, more than half of returning Veterans at risk for suicide do not initiate mental health services. VA has embarked on the regular use of communication campaigns as part of a public health approach designed to reach the larger Veteran population with messages promoting help seeking. However, what types of messages effectively change beliefs and behaviors for at-risk Veterans resistant to seek treatment is unclear. The main objective of this study is to develop and test the use of public messaging to increase treatment seeking among Veterans at risk for suicide and resistant to seek mental health care following separation from military service. This represents the first study to systematically develop public messaging strategies for populations at risk for suicide.

Conditions

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Messaging

Four brief video messages, each approximately 1.5 minutes in length, focused on facilitating treatment seeking by addressing barriers and improving attitudes. Intervention delivered to participant by study mobile app downloaded to participants' own smartphone.

OTHER

Wait list control

one push notification each week thanking individuals for participation, informing them that they will receive messages in the near future or reminding them of the length of the study.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • VA Office of Research and Development

    lead FED

Principal Investigators

  • Elizabeth Karras-Pilato, PhD · VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System, Canandaigua, NY

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
89 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2022-11-01
Primary Completion
2025-06-30
Completion
2025-09-30

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04784663 on ClinicalTrials.gov