Clinical trial NCT01355848: Improving Care Provided to Patients Treated in a Level 1 Trauma Center Post-suicide Attempt
Official title: Improving Care Provided to Patients Treated in a Level 1 Trauma Center Post-suicide Attempt
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE1
Conditions: Suicidal Ideas
Keywords: Suicide
Brief Intervention
Youth
Acute Medical Setting
Readiness to Change
Suicidality
Lead sponsor: University of Washington
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2011-05-18
Enrollment: 40
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 15
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The aim of the study is to refine, elaborate, and pilot a brief intervention for adult patients following a suicide attempt provided during hospitalization in an acute medical setting. 40 participants will be randomized to receive the brief intervention + care as usual or only care as usual. It is hypothesized that the intervention will be acceptable and feasible to both patients and intervention clinicians.

Detailed description: The aim of the study is to refine, elaborate, and pilot a brief intervention for adult patients following a suicide attempt provided during hospitalization in an acute medical setting, and will be addressed with a sample of cases (N = 40) from Harborview. The participants will be randomized into one of two groups: those that receive the intervention and those that do not. All participants will complete a battery of assessments The intervention is based on the theory of teachable moments, wherein timing in proximity to injury and appropriate treatment setting provide a unique opportunity to create patient behavioral change. The brief intervention consists of engaging the patient in conversation regarding suicidal ambivalence (desire to live vs. desire to die), collaborative discovery of primary and secondary drivers of suicidality, and safety planning. A guide to delivering the intervention has been completed and may undergo changes throughout the study. Adherence measures will be developed in order to assess the degree to which the clinician accurately provided the brief intervention without including additional therapeutic elements or leaving out elements required in the intervention guide. Best methods for integrating the brief intervention into services provided on medical and surgical units will be determined, as well.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* at least 15 years of age
* Inpatient on medical/surgical unit
* Admitted following a suicide attempt
* Sufficient English to benefit from psychotherapy in English
* Consents to be a research participant

Exclusion Criteria:

* Lack of sufficient English to participate in psychotherapy in English
* Prisoner/inmate at time of admission
* Too cognitively impaired, delirious, or psychotic to respond to psychotherapeutic intervention before end of stay on medical/surgical unit. Determination of cognitive impairment, delirium, agitation, and psychosis will be determined through the referral phone call between the PI and the referring care provider, as well as the PI's own clinical assessment of the patient at the outset of the brief intervention.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire
timeFrame: (baseline) Assessment taking place immediately after completion of intervention
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Scale for Suicide Ideation
timeFrame: One month follow-up assessment
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Seattle
country: United States
facility: Harborview Medical Center
state: Washington
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Washington
name: Stephen O'Connor, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Witt KG, Hetrick SE, Rajaram G, Hazell P, Taylor Salisbury TL, Townsend E, Hawton K. Psychosocial interventions for self-harm in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Apr 22;4(4):CD013668. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013668.pub2.