Clinical trial NCT04888533: Efficient, Holistic, Heuristic and Semi-structured Suicide Assessment Tool (EHSSA) - Very Accurate Prediction of Risk.
Official title: Predicting Suicide: E.H.S.S.A. - An Efficient, Holistic, Heuristic and Semi-structured Suicide Assessment Tool for Accurately Predicting, in a Specific Patient, the Risk of Suicide in the Reasonably Foreseeable Future. (EHSSA)
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Suicide Risk
Keywords: Suicide Risk Assessment Tool
Holistic
Heuristic
Semi-structured
Predictive Capacity
Lead sponsor: Care Plus NJ, Inc.
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2021-05-17
Enrollment: 1505
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: All patients of any age/gender/economic class with or without dementia or substance use disorders who presented to the psychiatric emergency program (P.E.S.P.- Psychiatric Emergency Screening Program of Bergen County) in psychiatric distress/crisis during a discreet 6 month period.

Brief summary: Many studies have found that insights regarding suicide risk-factors for cohorts does not translate to practical value in the identification of such risk in specific individuals.

E.H.S.S.A. - a suicide assessment tool that was empirically designed by an emergency psychiatry department (P.E.S.P. of Bergen County) in its effort to accurately predict, in specific patients, the risk of suicide attempts in the reasonably foreseeable future. It is of a unique paradigm that combines critical elements of holism, heuristics and semi-structured design.

Detailed description: Objective:

Many studies have found that insight regarding suicide risk-factors for cohorts does not translate to practical value in the identification of such risk in specific individuals.

This performance improvement study formally examined the effectiveness of "EHSSA" (efficient, holistic/heuristic semi-structured suicide-risk assessment) - an empirically derived tool designed by this emergency psychiatry department. It is a suicide assessment tool for predicting in a specific patient (as opposed to a cohort), the risk of serious suicide attempts in the reasonably foreseeable future.

Methods:

At P.E.S.P. (Psychiatric Emergency Screening Program) of Bergen County of New Jersey, a prospective performance improvement study was done on all patients (N = 1,505) that had presented with psychiatric crisis to the department over the course of a 6 month period, (of which approximately 50% had significant suicidal ideations). The only exclusionary criteria was active delirium.

Each patient was evaluated using "EHSSA" by departmentally trained mental health professionals. Patients were deemed to either require hospitalization or be safe to be discharged to the community (with appropriate outpatient referrals). Those that were discharged (N = 137) were followed up with phone calls approximately 15 days post discharge.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients of any age/gender/economic class with or without dementia and/or substance use disorders
* All patients presenting to P.E.S.P.(Psychiatric Emergency Screening Program of Bergen County) in psychiatric distress/crisis.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Active Delirium.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Rate or number of completed or attempted suicide.
timeFrame: 6 months
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Paramus
country: United States
facility: Care Plus NJ, Inc.- PESP (Psychiatric Emergency Screening Program)
state: New Jersey
Study officials:
affiliation: Care Plus NJ, Inc.
name: Charles Kim, M.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: