Examining a Strategy to Engage Rural Veteran Patients After Community Care Treatment
Overview
- Phase
- N/A
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Suicide Prevention
- Sponsor
- White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center
- Enrollment
- 20
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Suicidal Ideation: The Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS)
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 7 months ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The goal of this pilot randomized controlled trial is to test an adapted suicide prevention program (the Building VA Engagement, Self-efficacy, and Social Support To Prevent Suicide or BESST) in rural Veterans discharged from community care mental health treatment settings. The main question it aims to answer is:
- Does BESST combined with standard care improve suicide-related outcomes among this population compared to standard care alone?
Participants will be assigned by change to a treatment group. Some will receive the BESST intervention combined with standard care, and some will receive standard care alone. All participants will be in this research study for up to three months.
Those receiving the BESST intervention will have:
- 1 one-hour brief educational session;
- Seven follow-up check-ins (~30 minutes each)
All participants will have three assessment interviews where they will be asked about their mental health and treatment received outside of the VA.
The investigators will compare participants assigned to the BESST intervention combined with standard care vs participants assigned to standard care alone to see if the BESST intervention improves suicide-related outcomes.
Investigators
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •The patient was recently discharged from a VA community care mental health treatment setting
- •The patient is at risk for self-harm
- •Be a patient connected to the White River Junction VA Medical Center (VAMC), the Togus VA Medical Center (VAMC), or the Manchester VA Medical Center (VAMC);
- •Be a Veteran;
- •Be 18 years or older;
- •Be able to speak English;
Exclusion Criteria
- •Unable to provide informed consent;
- •The investigators do not plan to enroll any potentially vulnerable populations including prisoners, institutionalized patients, or involuntarily committed patients;
- •Study physician deems the patient not clinically appropriate
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Suicidal Ideation: The Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS)
Time Frame: 3 months post-baseline
The Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS) ranges from 0-38. While there is no established BSS cutoff score to classify suicide risk, there is evidence that higher scores on the BSS correspond to more severe suicidal ideation and that a change of five points or more on the total BSS scores may be clinically relevant.
Secondary Outcomes
- Hopelessness: Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS)(3 months post-baseline)
- Connectedness: Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-15 (INQ-15) Perceived Burdensomeness(3 months post-baseline)
- Connectedness: Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-15 (INQ-15) Thwarted Belongingness(3 months post-baseline)
- Patient Engagement: General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES)(3 months post-baseline)
- Patient Engagement: Suicide-Related Coping Scale (SRCS) External Coping Subscale(3 months post-baseline)
- Patient Engagement: Suicide Related Coping Scale (SRCS) Internal Coping Subscale(3 months post-baseline)
- Number of Participants With Suicide Attempts(3 months post-baseline)
- Number of Participants With Substance Use at 3 Months Post-baseline(3 months post-baseline)