Mobile Technology for Reducing and Preventing Adolescent Suicide

Conditions

Suicidal Ideation, Suicide, Attempted

Brief summary

This single-group open-label trial will evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a suicide prevention mobile application when used as an adjunct to usual care in adolescents.

Detailed description

This study will enroll 20 adolescent (age 13-17) inpatients at elevated risk for suicide. Participants will download the app onto their phones during their inpatient stay and will complete a single therapy session involving psychoeducation and crisis response planning. Participants will be encouraged to use the app on their own in addition to their usual outpatient services to learn and practice suicide prevention skills. Participants and their parents will be interviewed 1, 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks after discharge.

Related papers

No related papers found yet.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALSmartphone App

Smartphone app teaching suicide prevention skills.

Study design

Allocation

NA

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

13 Years to 17 Years

Healthy volunteers

No

Inclusion criteria

* Inpatient psychiatric patients who have attempted suicide (lifetime) or have documented suicide ideation and a plan to harm themselves at admission * Understand written and spoken English * Own an iPhone with iOS 11 or higher, or Android with OS 8.1 or higher * Willing and able to complete enrollment procedures * Parent/guardian (and youth) able to understand the nature of the study and provide written informed consent (assent for youth) * Willing to agree to release of information to their parent/guardian and providers when clinically indicated. * Discharge plan includes aftercare within the Hartford HealthCare system (to facilitate coordination of care during follow up)

Exclusion criteria

* Patients with active psychosis * Patients experiencing substance withdrawal * Currently enrolled in other treatment studies for the symptoms and behaviors targeted * Patient unwilling or unable to wear mask during in-person study procedures * Patients who, in the judgment of the investigator, would have an unfavorable risk/benefit profile with respect to the Smartphone App. * Any other psychiatric or medical condition (e.g., intellectual disability) or custody arrangement that in the investigator's opinion would preclude informed consent/assent or participation in the trial.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
App Usability 1 Week	1 week post discharge	The System Usability Scale (SUS) contains 10 items assessing the usability of digital technology. Items are rated from 1 to 5 with higher numbers representing stronger agreement with usability statements. Scores can range from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting better outcomes, meaning increased usability of the technology. The mean and standard deviation for the SUS will be reported utilizing all available data.
App Usability 4 Weeks	4 weeks post discharge	The System Usability Scale (SUS) contains 10 items assessing the usability of digital technology. Items are rated from 1 to 5 with higher numbers representing stronger agreement with usability statements. Scores can range from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting better outcomes, meaning increased usability of the technology. The mean and standard deviation for the SUS will be reported utilizing all available data.
App Usability 8 Weeks	8 weeks post discharge	The System Usability Scale (SUS) contains 10 items assessing the usability of digital technology. Items are rated from 1 to 5 with higher numbers representing stronger agreement with usability statements. Scores can range from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting better outcomes, meaning increased usability of the technology. The mean and standard deviation for the SUS will be reported utilizing all available data.
App Usability 12 Weeks	12 weeks post discharge	The System Usability Scale (SUS) contains 10 items assessing the usability of digital technology. Items are rated from 1 to 5 with higher numbers representing stronger agreement with usability statements. Scores can range from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting better outcomes, meaning increased usability of the technology. The mean and standard deviation for the SUS will be reported utilizing all available data.
App Usability 16 Weeks	16 weeks post discharge	The System Usability Scale (SUS) contains 10 items assessing the usability of digital technology. Items are rated from 1 to 5 with higher numbers representing stronger agreement with usability statements. Scores can range from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting better outcomes, meaning increased usability of the technology. The mean and standard deviation for the SUS will be reported utilizing all available data.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Suicidal Ideation Baseline	Baseline	The SIQ Jr is a 15-item measure assesses suicidal thoughts on a 7-point scale, with possible total scores ranging from 0-90). Higher scores indicate more severe suicidal ideation. Means and standard deviations will be reported utilizing all available data.
Suicidal Ideation 16 Weeks	16 Weeks post discharge	The SIQ Jr is a 15-item measure assesses suicidal thoughts on a 7-point scale, with possible total scores ranging from 0-90). Higher scores indicate more severe suicidal ideation. Means and standard deviations will be reported utilizing all available data.
Suicidal Ideation 1 Week	1 Week post discharge	The SIQ Jr is a 15-item measure assesses suicidal thoughts on a 7-point scale, with possible total scores ranging from 0-90). Higher scores indicate more severe suicidal ideation. Means and standard deviations will be reported utilizing all available data.
Suicidal Ideation 4 Weeks	4 Weeks post discharge	The SIQ Jr is a 15-item measure assesses suicidal thoughts on a 7-point scale, with possible total scores ranging from 0-90). Higher scores indicate more severe suicidal ideation. Means and standard deviations will be reported utilizing all available data.
Suicidal Ideation 8 Weeks	8 Weeks post discharge	The SIQ Jr is a 15-item measure assesses suicidal thoughts on a 7-point scale, with possible total scores ranging from 0-90). Higher scores indicate more severe suicidal ideation. Means and standard deviations will be reported utilizing all available data.
Suicidal Ideation 12 Weeks	12 Weeks post discharge	The SIQ Jr is a 15-item measure assesses suicidal thoughts on a 7-point scale, with possible total scores ranging from 0-90). Higher scores indicate more severe suicidal ideation. Means and standard deviations will be reported utilizing all available data.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

Arm	Count
Intervention Smartphone app teaching suicide prevention skills. Smartphone App: Smartphone app teaching suicide prevention skills.	22
Total	22

Withdrawals & dropouts

Period	Reason	FG000
Overall Study	Did not complete onboarding	2
Overall Study	Lost to Follow-up	1
Overall Study	Withdrawal by Subject	2

Baseline characteristics

Characteristic	Intervention
Age, Continuous	14.8182 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.2587
Baseline SIQ	54.700 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 18.966
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Hispanic or Latino	6 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Not Hispanic or Latino	15 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported	1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) American Indian or Alaska Native	0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) Asian	0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) Black or African American	3 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) More than one race	1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported	5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) White	12 Participants
Sex/Gender, Customized Gender Female	16 Participants
Sex/Gender, Customized Gender Nonbinary/Genderfluid	4 Participants
Sex/Gender, Customized Gender Trans male	2 Participants

Adverse events

Event type	EG000 affected / at risk
deaths Total, all-cause mortality	0 / 22
other Total, other adverse events	19 / 22
serious Total, serious adverse events	9 / 22

Outcome results

Primary

App Usability 12 Weeks

The System Usability Scale (SUS) contains 10 items assessing the usability of digital technology. Items are rated from 1 to 5 with higher numbers representing stronger agreement with usability statements. Scores can range from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting better outcomes, meaning increased usability of the technology. The mean and standard deviation for the SUS will be reported utilizing all available data.

Time frame: 12 weeks post discharge

Arm	Measure	Value (MEAN)	Dispersion
Intervention	App Usability 12 Weeks	86.833 score on a scale	Standard Deviation 10.457

Primary

App Usability 16 Weeks

The System Usability Scale (SUS) contains 10 items assessing the usability of digital technology. Items are rated from 1 to 5 with higher numbers representing stronger agreement with usability statements. Scores can range from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting better outcomes, meaning increased usability of the technology. The mean and standard deviation for the SUS will be reported utilizing all available data.

Time frame: 16 weeks post discharge

Arm	Measure	Value (MEAN)	Dispersion
Intervention	App Usability 16 Weeks	85.625 score on a scale	Standard Deviation 8.827

Primary

App Usability 1 Week

The System Usability Scale (SUS) contains 10 items assessing the usability of digital technology. Items are rated from 1 to 5 with higher numbers representing stronger agreement with usability statements. Scores can range from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting better outcomes, meaning increased usability of the technology. The mean and standard deviation for the SUS will be reported utilizing all available data.

Time frame: 1 week post discharge

Arm	Measure	Value (MEAN)	Dispersion
Intervention	App Usability 1 Week	83.948 score on a scale	Standard Deviation 10.046

Primary

App Usability 4 Weeks

The System Usability Scale (SUS) contains 10 items assessing the usability of digital technology. Items are rated from 1 to 5 with higher numbers representing stronger agreement with usability statements. Scores can range from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting better outcomes, meaning increased usability of the technology. The mean and standard deviation for the SUS will be reported utilizing all available data.

Time frame: 4 weeks post discharge

Arm	Measure	Value (MEAN)	Dispersion
Intervention	App Usability 4 Weeks	86.875 score on a scale	Standard Deviation 9.06

Primary

App Usability 8 Weeks

The System Usability Scale (SUS) contains 10 items assessing the usability of digital technology. Items are rated from 1 to 5 with higher numbers representing stronger agreement with usability statements. Scores can range from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting better outcomes, meaning increased usability of the technology. The mean and standard deviation for the SUS will be reported utilizing all available data.

Time frame: 8 weeks post discharge

Arm	Measure	Value (MEAN)	Dispersion
Intervention	App Usability 8 Weeks	85.500 score on a scale	Standard Deviation 9.171

Secondary