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Improving Care Provided to Patients Treated in a Level 1 Trauma Center Post-suicide Attempt

Improving Care Provided to Patients Treated in a Level 1 Trauma Center Post-suicide Attempt

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01355848
Enrollment
40
Registered
2011-05-18
Start date
2011-05-31
Completion date
2012-04-30
Last updated
2015-03-10

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Suicidal Ideas

Keywords

Suicide, Brief Intervention, Youth, Acute Medical Setting, Readiness to Change, Suicidality

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.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALBrief Intervention for Suicidality

Focuses on behavioral elements of care, including building rapport, functional analysis, and crisis planning

Sponsors

University of Washington
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
15 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

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.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire(baseline) Assessment taking place immediately after completion of interventionThe Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire will be used to determine the acceptability of the intervention by the patient.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Scale for Suicide IdeationOne month follow-up assessmentThe Scale for Suicide Ideation will be used to determine the severity of current suicidality in all participants at the one-month follow-up as compared to the baseline assessment.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026