Caring Letters for Military Suicide Prevention

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Suicide, Suicide, Attempted

In brief

The purpose of this multi-site randomized controlled trial is to determine if the Caring Letters intervention is effective in preventing suicide and suicidal behaviors among U.S. Service Members and Veterans. The primary aim of this project is determine whether caring communications following inpatient psychiatric treatment reduce suicide and self-inflicted injuries among U.S. military personnel and Veterans. The investigators will also explore treatment utilization by comparing the frequency of treatment visits after enrollment into the study. The following specific hypotheses will be tested: Hypothesis 1: During a two year follow-up after the index hospital discharge, the frequency of suicide will be lower among participants in the Caring Letters group compared to those in the Usual Care group. Hypothesis 2: The frequency of medically admitted self-inflicted injuries will also be lower in the Caring Letters group compared to the Usual Care group. Hypothesis 3: The time to suicidal act, among those who do subsequently exhibit one, will be longer among participants in the Caring Letters group compared to the Usual Care group.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01473771

Run by

National Center for Telehealth and Technology

People needed

1319

Starts

2011-11-01

Expected to finish

2018-08-01

Last updated by the study team

2018-08-23

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Current psychiatric inpatients
• Possess an active email account
• Informed consent
• Active duty military, Veteran, Retiree, National Guard or Reserves status

You may not qualify if…

• Not competent to consent
• Adverse behavioral problems
• The primary psychiatric nurse or attending psychiatrist considers that study to be clinically inappropriate
• Currently under arrest/incarceration
• Involuntary committed for psychiatric care status

Where it is running

• Palo Alto VAHCS — Palo Alto, California, United States
• Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) — San Diego, California, United States
• Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC) — Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
• VA Western New York, Buffalo VA Medical Center — Buffalo, New York, United States
• National Center for Telehealth and Technology — Tacoma, Washington, United States
• Landstuhl Regional Medical Center — Landstuhl, Germany

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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