Clinician Access to Soldier Suicide Information (CASSI)

Suicide

The overall objective of this project is to conduct a feasibility study using data proved by Department of Defense National Center for Telehealth and Technology (T2) toward the ultimate goal of establishing a mechanism by which VA clinicians could access data on Veterans regarding suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors that occurred when they were on active duty, as documented in the Department of Defense Suicide Event Report (DoDSER).

As a first step toward the overall goal of this project, the investigators will use data from T2 to conduct the first stage of a feasibility study. Specifically, the investigators will attempt to match Social Security numbers (SSNs) of Soldiers who have had suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors in the DoDSER against SSNs of Veterans seeking mental health services at any VA in the United States. Once this first step has been accomplished, the investigators also aim to describe the group of Veterans with DoDSERs who are accessing VA services (i.e., demographic information, military service variables, and health care utilization variables) in an attempt to better understand this group. It is anticipated that if this study is successful, a next step would be to explore the possibility of DoDSER data sharing with VA partners toward attainment of the following long-term goals: 1. Sharing information on history of active duty suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors among discharged individuals seeking mental health services in VA systems; 2. Facilitating identification of these Veterans; 3. Reducing VA clinician burden though effective access to existing data that may help in assessment and treatment planning; 4. Lowering health care costs through effective early management; 5. Improving quality of care for Veterans seeking services through VA outpatient mental health clinics.

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United States