A Study of a Smartphone-based Intervention for Suicidal Inpatients

NCT ID: NCT03121742

Last Updated: 2024-05-29

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: WITHDRAWN
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2020-04-01
• Study Completion Date: 2021-05-01

Brief Summary

Suicide is the most common form of deadly violence. Indeed, since more than 40,000 people die by suicide each year, people are 2.5 times more likely to die by their own hand than someone else's. The four weeks after discharge from inpatient care is an especially dangerous period in terms of suicide risk, possibly because of poor post-discharge treatment adherence and poor treatment efficacy during a suicide crisis. To reduce suicide risk both in general and during the post-discharge period, interventions are needed that (1) are easily adhered to and (2) are effective during a suicide crisis. The goal of the study is to pilot-test a suite of five smartphone-based ecological momentary interventions (EMI) that can be easily used during a suicide crisis. Two target hopelessness, two target loneliness, and one targets negative automatic thoughts associated with hopelessness and loneliness. Although these interventions are new to the study of suicide, they are all grounded in decades of empirical work and adapted from effective interventions in areas relating to suicide.

Participants will be 20 inpatients (n = 10 each in treatment as usual [TAU] plus intervention and TAU plus assessment [i.e., control] groups) from the Massachusetts General Hospital Inpatient Psychiatric Service. The investigators hypothesize that those in the TAU plus intervention group will have lower levels of suicidal ideation during the inpatient and post-discharge period than those in the TAU plus assessment group.

Conditions

Suicide, Attempted; Suicidal Ideation; Hopeless

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Treatment as usual [TAU] plus assessment

Patients will receive standard care plus assessment.

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Treatment as Usual

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Standard care as part of inpatient hospitalization.

Treatment as usual [TAU] plus intervention

Patients will receive standard care plus an ecological momentary intervention.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Ecological Momentary Intervention

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Patients will be taught four therapeutic intervention skills based on positive psychology and cognitive behavioral therapy. They will then be prompted to complete these interventions on a smartphone four times per day (and as needed) for the duration of their inpatient care and for 28 days afterwards.

Treatment as Usual

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Standard care as part of inpatient hospitalization.

Interventions

Ecological Momentary Intervention

Patients will be taught four therapeutic intervention skills based on positive psychology and cognitive behavioral therapy. They will then be prompted to complete these interventions on a smartphone four times per day (and as needed) for the duration of their inpatient care and for 28 days afterwards.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Treatment as Usual

Standard care as part of inpatient hospitalization.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

• Additionally, patients who are on involuntary hospitalization status will be excluded.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

American Psychological Foundation

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Massachusetts General Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Evan M. Kleiman, Ph.D.

Research Associate

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Other Identifiers

IRB17-0483

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id