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Evaluation of the Quality of Chat Conversations With the Suicide Helpline Zelfmoordlijn 1813

NCT07176156 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 373

Last updated 2025-09-16

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Suicide remains a serious public health issue in Flanders. Every day, nearly three people die by suicide, and many more attempt it or struggle with suicidal thoughts. The Zelfmoordlijn 1813 is a free and confidential helpline that offers support to people in crisis through phone, chat, and email. In 2024, volunteers had over 23,000 conversations, including nearly 3,000 via chat.

This study, led by the Flemish Centre of Expertise in Suicide Prevention (VLESP) in collaboration with the Centre for Suicide Prevention (CPZ), aims to better understand how people experience the chat service of the Zelfmoordlijn 1813. While previous research has looked at the impact of phone conversations, little is known about how chat conversations affect suicidal thoughts and feelings.

To explore this, people who contact the chat service will be invited to fill out a short questionnaire before and after their conversation. These questionnaires take about 3 minutes each and are completely voluntary. They ask about feelings like hopelessness, crisis, and perceived support, as well as satisfaction with the chat.

The goal is to improve the quality of chat-based crisis support and ensure that people in emotional distress receive the best possible help. This research will help strengthen suicide prevention efforts in Flanders.

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

No intervention

Observational one-time questionnaire study without intervention

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University Ghent

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Gwendolyn Portzky, PhD · Flemish Centre of Expertise in Suicide Prevention (Ghent University)

Eligibility

Min Age
16 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-09-23
Primary Completion
2026-12-31
Completion
2026-12-31

Countries

  • Belgium

Study Locations

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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 NCT07176156 on ClinicalTrials.gov