Exploring the Effectiveness of a Suicide Ideation Prevention Program: Reframe-IT+

Summary

Suicide is a leading cause of death among young people, with worldwide prevalence rates of suicidal ideation, suicidal ideation with a plan, and suicide attempts in youth aged 14-21 years. These behaviors have a significant negative impact on individuals, families, and the community at large. In Latin America, including Chile, suicide rates have increased in recent decades. Youth suicide prevention is a public health priority in Chile, although evidence-based interventions of high quality are lacking.

Secondary schools are a suitable and accessible setting for youth suicide prevention programs, with interventions that raise awareness about suicide and improve skills to reduce suicide attempts and suicidal ideation. Despite the effectiveness of interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), these are less common in school settings, although digital technologies offer a potentially efficient way to implement suicide prevention programs in schools.

The Reframe-IT program is an Internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy designed to reduce suicidal ideation in youth, supported by school wellness staff. Studies in Australia demonstrated the effectiveness and acceptability of Reframe-IT, although it is suggested that digital interventions may have a greater impact when combined with face-to-face sessions.

This study examined the acceptability and feasibility of a combined intervention that included Reframe-IT and four additional in-person sessions for adolescents in Chile. It is suggested that these combined interventions could be a promising strategy for youth suicide prevention in school settings, especially in Latin American countries where mental health support is limited.

Conditions

• Suicidal Ideation
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Hopelessness

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Reframe-It+

Reframe-IT+ is an individual intervention based on cognitive behavioral therapy, with a problem-solving and help-seeking approach, which is carried out at the Educational Establishment with a trained psychologist. It consists of 13 weekly sessions of 25 minutes each, of which 5 sessions have a face-to-face component and 8 sessions have a face-to-face-digital component where students use a computer always in the company of a psychologist facilitating the program.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Fundación Crecer y Sanar

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• University of Talca

  collaborator OTHER

• Universidad de los Andes, Chile

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jorge Gaete, MD, PhD · Universidad de Los Andes

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

14 Years

Max Age

17 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-06-03

Primary Completion

2024-12-31

Completion

2024-12-31

Countries

• Chile

Study Locations