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Safety Planning Intervention Telehealth Service Model in Emergency Departments

Not Applicable
Conditions
Suicide
Suicidal Ideation
Interventions
Behavioral: SPI+ Delivered by ED Staff
Behavioral: SPI+ Delivered by SPCC Clinicians
Registration Number
NCT05307432
Lead Sponsor
University of Pennsylvania
Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of a suicide prevention strategy delivered via telehealth in Emergency Departments. We will compare implementation of the Safety Planning Intervention plus follow-up calls (SPI+) delivered by Emergency Department (ED) staff to SPI+ delivered via ED referral to an off-site Suicide Prevention Consultation Center (SPCC).

Detailed Description

Individuals at high risk for suicide often present to acute care settings, such as emergency departments (EDs), and then typically are hospitalized or referred for outpatient mental health treatment. Patients are at increased risk of suicide attempts and suicide following an ED visit and nearly half do not attend outpatient treatment. Brief, evidence-based clinical interventions, such as the Safety Planning Intervention with post-discharge telephone follow-up (SPI+), can reduce suicide risk, decrease hospitalizations, and increase engagement in outpatient services for suicidal patients discharged from the ED. Leveraging insights from implementation science and collaborative care, we propose a model in which ED staff will connect patients at risk for suicide to ED-credentialed mental health clinicians who are located external to the ED. These off-site clinicians will provide SPI+ via telehealth for ED patients prior to discharge and provide follow-up services after ED discharge as part of an innovative Suicide Prevention Consultation Center (SPCC). All participating EDs will begin in the Enhanced Usual Care phase, in which ED staff will deliver SPI+ to suicidal patients. EDs will then be randomized in pairs to begin referral to the SPCC in 3 month intervals. We will also conduct a cost evaluation to help determine scalability and sustainability.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
2814
Inclusion Criteria
  • ED visit at one of our participating sites for a suicide-related event or determined to be at risk for suicide per the Electronic Health Record (EHR) and ED clinical staff
  • 18 years of age or older
  • Not admitted to an inpatient hospital following the index ED visit as documented in the EHR
Exclusion Criteria
  • Inpatient admission following the index ED visit per the EHR

Aim 2:

Inclusion Criteria:

  • ED clinician or leader at one of our participating sites, or ED patient who was referred to the SPCC
  • 18 years of age or older
  • Able to communicate in English
  • Willing to give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who are at imminent risk of suicide or acutely psychotic at the time of the interview, requiring emergency services and/or precluding ability to provide informed consent
  • Patients without a phone for contact

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
CROSSOVER
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Enhanced Usual CareSPI+ Delivered by ED StaffED staff deliver SPI+ (Safety Planning Intervention plus 2 or more post-discharge telephone calls) to suicidal patients who are not admitted to an inpatient unit.
Suicide Prevention Consultation CenterSPI+ Delivered by SPCC CliniciansED staff refer suicidal patients not admitted to an inpatient unit to the off-site Suicide Prevention Consultation Center (SPCC). SPCC clinicians will deliver SPI+ (Safety Planning Intervention plus 2 or more post-discharge telephone calls) to patients via telehealth.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Outpatient Treatment Engagement - Count6 months after index ED visit

Number of behavioral healthcare visits following discharge from index ED visit

Reach/Penetration of Safety PlansAt index ED visit

Proportion of patients with a completed safety plan documented in the medical record out of all patients identified as at risk for suicide by the ED staff

Outpatient Treatment Engagement - Type6 months after index ED visit

Types of behavioral healthcare visits following discharge from index ED visit

Reach/Penetration of Follow-up Calls1 month after index ED visit

Proportion of patients who receive 2 or more telephone follow-up attempts out of all patients who received a safety plan

Suicide Behavior Composite6 months after index ED visit

Number of patients who had a documented suicide attempt or death by suicide

Safety Planning Intervention Scoring Algorithm (SPISA)At index ED visit

Fidelity of written safety plans post-discharge from index ED visit

Fidelity of Follow-up Calls1 month after index ED visit

Number of patients who had 2 or more follow-up calls post-discharge from index ED visit

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Feasibility of SPCC9-12 months after ED crosses over to SPCC condition

Will be assessed through semi-structured qualitative interviews with a randomly selected sample of clinicians, leaders, and patients, as well as by using the Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM)

Acceptability of SPCC9-12 months after ED crosses over to SPCC condition

Will be assessed through semi-structured qualitative interviews with a randomly selected sample of clinicians, leaders, and patients, as well as by using the Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM)

Cost to Emergency Department of SPCCAfter ED crosses over to SPCC condition (2.25 - 3 year range, average of 2.625 years)

We will assess average personnel and non-personnel costs to Emergency Department practices of delivering SPCC and EUC strategies, using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing

Cost to Emergency Department of EUCBefore ED crosses over to SPC condition (1 - 1.75 year range, average of 1.375 years)

We will assess average personnel and non-personnel costs to Emergency Department practices of delivering EUC strategies, using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing

Suicide-related ED Visits and Psychiatric Hospitalizations6 months after index ED visit

Number of ED visits and/or inpatient psychiatric admissions for suicidal ideation/behavior

Suicide Attempts6 months after index ED visit

Number of patients who had a documented suicide attempt

AdoptionAt index ED visit

Proportion of clinicians with eligible patients who refer the patient to the SPCC

Utilization of Screening of Suicide Risk Among ED PatientsAt index ED visit

Proportion of ED patients who received the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale or equivalent evidence-based measure of suicide risk during index ED visit

Index ED Visit Inpatient Admission DispositionAt index ED visit

Proportion of patients admitted for inpatient hospitalization out of all patients identified as at risk for suicide

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Pennsylvania Health System

🇺🇸

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

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