Clinical trial NCT04446468: Suicide Prevention Study of VA-BIC in the Veteran Population
Official title: Prevention of Suicide in Veterans Through Brief Intervention and Contact (VA-BIC)
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Suicide Prevention
Keywords: Mental health education
Clinical Trial
Suicidal ideation
Suicide, attempted
Lead sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
Sponsor class: FED
Collaborators: name: White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center
First posted: 2020-06-25
Enrollment: 92
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Participants are assigned to one of two groups in parallel: PEACE plus standard psychiatric discharge care vs. standard psychiatric discharge care alone
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The VA is committed to reducing suicide in the U.S. Veteran population. Over 6,000 Veterans die from suicide each year, and this risk is particularly high following a psychiatric hospitalization. This may be due to problems with engagement in care and poor social connectedness. Although the VA has implemented tools to address Veteran suicide risk, suicide after psychiatric discharge remains an ongoing problem. This has highlighted the need to develop new interventions and approaches to post-discharge mental health care within the VA. In response, this project is a randomized control trial of an intervention an intervention called Prevention of suicide: Education, Awareness, Connection, and Engagement (PEACE). This intervention is comprised of two synergistic and promising components to prevent suicide: 1) a mobile mental health app, which aims to improve social connectedness after discharge; and 2) a manual-based intervention called the Veterans Affairs Brief Intervention and Contact Program (VA-BIC), which promotes engagement in care. The overall goal of this study is to determine if the PEACE intervention combined with standard discharge care reduces suicidal ideation as compared to a control group receiving only standard discharge care.

Detailed description: Background: Suicide is a major public health concern in the U.S., and even more so in the Veteran population. Furthermore, the period following psychiatric hospitalization is one of the highest risk periods for suicide. Based on current evidence, some of the most important contributing factors to post-hospitalization suicide risk include problems with engagement in care, fragmented care, and lack of social connectedness. Other studies in civilian populations have also raised similar concerns, highlighting the need to identify novel and effective interventions or approaches to post-discharge mental health care.

Objectives: This project aims to 1) Identify the effect of PEACE on suicidal ideation after psychiatric hospitalization, compared to standard care alone; 2) Identify the effect of PEACE on social connectedness and engagement in care after psychiatric hospitalization, compared to standard care alone; and 3) Compare the effect of PEACE on suicide attempts and suicide deaths after psychiatric hospitalization, compared to standard care alone.

Methods: This is a single-site, assessor-blinded, randomized control trial of PEACE plus standard psychiatric hospital discharge care compared to standard psychiatric hospital discharge care alone. The trial will enroll up to 160 participants aged 18 years and older who are being discharged from the White River Junction VA Medical Center inpatient mental health unit. Participants will be randomized to either the PEACE intervention plus standard psychiatric discharge care or standard psychiatric discharge care alone. Suicidal ideation, hopelessness, social connectedness, engagement in care, suicide attempts, and app engagement (only those randomized to PEACE) will be measured at baseline and one, three, and six months post-discharge. Participants randomized to PEACE will also receive eight additional intervention contacts as part of the VA-BIC protocol.

Hypothesis: Veterans receiving the PEACE intervention will report greater improvements in suicidal thoughts and behaviors, hopelessness, social connectedness, and engagement in care at follow-up contact visits compared to Veterans receiving standard care alone.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* 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 18 years or older;
* Be able to speak English;
* Have access to a smart phone and express willingness to download a mobile app.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Unable to provide informed consent;
* The investigators do not plan to enroll any potentially vulnerable populations including prisoners, or involuntarily committed patients.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS)
timeFrame: Baseline to 6 Months Post-Discharge
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Suicide-Related Coping Scale
timeFrame: Baseline to 6 Months Post-Discharge
measure: Continuity of Care
timeFrame: Baseline to 3 Months Post-Discharge
measure: Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS)
timeFrame: Baseline to 6 Months Post-Discharge
measure: Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-15 (INQ-15)
timeFrame: Baseline to 6 Months Post-Discharge
measure: Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
timeFrame: Baseline to 6 Months Post-Discharge
measure: App Engagement Scale (AES)
timeFrame: 1 Month to 6 Months Post-Discharge
Other outcomes:
measure: MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview
timeFrame: Baseline
Locations:
city: White River Junction
country: United States
facility: White River Junction VA Medical Center, White River Junction, VT
state: Vermont
Study officials:
affiliation: White River Junction VA Medical Center, White River Junction, VT
name: Natalie Riblet, MD MPH
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Cornelius SL, Berry T, Goodrich AJ, Shiner B, Riblet NB. The Effect of Meteorological, Pollution, and Geographic Exposures on Death by Suicide: A Scoping Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jul 23;18(15):7809. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18157809.
citation: Riblet NB, Gottlieb DJ, Watts BV, Levis M, Shiner B. Irregular hospital discharge from acute inpatient and residential mental health treatment settings in a large integrated healthcare system. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2021 Sep-Oct;72:7-14. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2021.06.009. Epub 2021 Jun 26.
citation: Riblet NB, Gottlieb DJ, Watts BV, Levis M, Scott R, Shiner B. Is It Time for the Mental Health Field to Consider Unplanned Discharge a Key Metric of Patient Safety? J Nerv Ment Dis. 2022 Mar 1;210(3):227-230. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001425.
citation: Riblet NB, Kenneally L, Stevens S, Watts BV, Gui J, Forehand J, Cornelius S, Rousseau GS, Schwartz JC, Shiner B. A virtual, pilot randomized trial of a brief intervention to prevent suicide in an integrated healthcare setting. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2022 Mar-Apr;75:68-74. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2022.02.002. Epub 2022 Feb 18.
citation: Riblet NB, Varela M, Ashby W, Zubkoff L, Shiner B, Pogue J, Stevens SP, Wasserman D, Watts BV. Spreading a Strategy to Prevent Suicide After Psychiatric Hospitalization: Results of a Quality Improvement Spread Initiative. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2022 Oct;48(10):503-512. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2022.02.009. Epub 2022 Mar 6.
citation: Britton PC, Berrouiguet S, Riblet NB, Zhong BL. Editorial: Brief interventions in suicide prevention across the continuum of care. Front Psychiatry. 2022 Jul 26;13:976855. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.976855. eCollection 2022. No abstract available.
citation: Riblet NB, Matsunaga S, Lee Y, Young-Xu Y, Shiner B, Schnurr PP, Levis M, Watts BV. Tools to Detect Risk of Death by Suicide: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Clin Psychiatry. 2022 Nov 16;84(1):21r14385. doi: 10.4088/JCP.21r14385.
citation: Riblet NB, Shiner B, Young-Xu Y, Watts BV. Lithium in the prevention of suicide in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. BJPsych Open. 2022 Nov 17;8(6):e199. doi: 10.1192/bjo.2022.605.
citation: Riblet NB, Matsunaga S, Shiner B, Schnurr PP, Watts BV. Are suicide risk scales sensitive to change? A scoping review. J Psychiatr Res. 2023 May;161:170-178. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.03.007. Epub 2023 Mar 9.
citation: Riblet NBV, Watts BV. Another Reason to Quit Smoking: Results of a Prospective Study Examining Smoking, COPD, and Suicide. Chest. 2023 Feb;163(2):259-261. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2022.10.016. No abstract available.
citation: Riblet NB, Young-Xu Y, Shiner B, Schnurr PP, Watts BV. The efficacy and safety of buprenorphine for the treatment of depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Psychiatr Res. 2023 May;161:393-401. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.03.037. Epub 2023 Mar 30.
citation: Riblet NB, Soncrant C, Mills P, Yackel EE. Analysis of Reported Suicide Safety Events Among Veterans Who Received Treatment Through Department of Veterans Affairs-Contracted Community Care. Mil Med. 2023 Aug 29;188(9-10):e3173-e3181. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usad088.
citation: Riblet NB, Gottlieb DJ, Shiner B, Zubkoff L, Rice K, Watts BV, Rusch B. An Analysis of Irregular Discharges From Residential Treatment Programs in the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System. Mil Med. 2023 Nov 3;188(11-12):e3657-e3666. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usad131.
citation: Kenneally L, Stevens S, Cornelius S, Shiner B, Rice K, Park J, Watts BV, Teja N, Riblet N. Pilot randomized controlled trial of a brief strategy to prevent suicide after discharge from residential addiction treatment. J Subst Use Addict Treat. 2023 Nov;154:209156. doi: 10.1016/j.josat.2023.209156. Epub 2023 Aug 29.