Reducing Crises and Suicide Within the Idaho Army National Guard

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Crisis Response Plan; Crisis Intervention

• Registration Number: NCT07032636
• Lead Sponsor: University of Rochester

Brief Summary

Military suicide is an ongoing public health concern, particularly within the Army National Guard (ARNG), with longstanding effects on fellow soldiers, family, and friends. The straddling of military and civilian worlds for ARNG can worsen risk factors for suicide, including increased social isolation, disruption to family life, and employment difficulties. One promising framework that addresses both unit cohesion and social support is the First Line Leaders (FLL) program, recently designated by ARNG for nation-wide dissemination. The program is centered on enhancing the relationship between junior enlisted soldiers (JES) and their assigned non-commissioned officer (NCO). The Investigators propose to study an augmented FLL program that includes templated guides developed in collaboration with Idaho ARNG stakeholders. The guides, referred to as TAP (Total Health Action Plan), were adapted from two empirically based interventions, Crisis Response Planning and Problem-Solving Therapy, and consist of prompts for open communication and effective engagement and guidelines for responding to impending or current behavioral distress. Given their elevated suicide risk, the Idaho ARNG is a crucial setting to develop this upstream intervention.

In this study, the Investigators propose to compare the augmented FLL + TAP program to FLL only, and training as usual (n= 50 NCOs and 100 JES per group) with quarterly assessments for up to one year. The Investigators will examine a random selection of deidentified counseling templates to examine the type and frequency of counseling sessions involving acute crisis and behavioral health difficulties, and online ratings from a random selection of JES using validated instruments to assess upstream indicators of behavioral distress and suicide risk and resilience. The Investigators will also conduct qualitative interviews with a random selection of 20% of the NCOs (n = 30) and JES (n = 60) enrolled in the project to provide personalized perspectives of program experiences.

The Investigators propose three aims to guide this research. (1) Collaborate with Idaho ARNG stakeholders to integrate TAP into FLL programming via: a) development and refinement of TAP training materials, b) building templated counseling statements that align with FLL and TAP, and c) education of Idaho ARNG training cadre in the delivery of TAP. (2) Evaluate fidelity, feasibility, and acceptability of FLL and FLL + TAP through a mixed methods approach of qualitative interviews with FLLs and JESs and evaluation of data from templated counseling sessions. (3) Examine the impact of FLL+TAP versus FLL versus training as usual on unit morale, cohesion, and general functioning.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2025-05-27
• Status Verified: 2025-06
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-06-18
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-06-18
• Study First Posted: 2025-06-24
• Last Update Posted: 2025-06-24
• Study Start: 2025-08-03
• Primary Completion: 2028-05-01
• Study Completion: 2028-05-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 450

Inclusion Criteria

• Enlistment or commission in the Idaho ARNG at the time of enrollment
• Age 18 or greater
• Ability to complete all study questionnaires and interview procedures
• Has at least one year remaining on National Guard contract

Exclusion Criteria

• Less than one year remaining on their contract with the National Guard

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Mean change in Fidelity to TAP.	Baseline, Month 3, Month 6, Month 9, and, Month 12.	Fidelity to TAP will be assessed by examining counseling statements where an intervention was completed on the templated counseling statement forms generated by our Stakeholder Advisory Board (SAB) using a Likert-type scale (e.g., 1 = poor fidelity, 5 = excellent fidelity). The total range of possible scores is from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating better fidelity.
Estimate of TAP usage at Follow-Up Assessments	Baseline, Month 3, Month 6, Month 9, and Month 12	Participants will be asked to complete a survey item assessing how many times they used a TAP during the 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-up visits. Response options will range from 0 to 99. The higher the score, the more TAPs the participant estimates they used during the given assessment period.
Mean satisfaction with TAP while in the FLL training program	Baseline, Month 3, Month 6, Month 9, and, Month 12	Participants will be asked to complete a survey called Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ). CSQ items are rated on a Likert-type scale that ranges from 0 to 4, with the higher total score indicating greater satisfaction with the intervention.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Idaho Army National Guard; 🇺🇸 Boise, Idaho, United States