Suicide Prevention Intervention for At-Risk Individuals in Transition

NCT02759172 | Completed Results DMC

• 1 other identifier: U01MH106660
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 800
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

The four year SPIRIT Trial, or Suicide Prevention Intervention for at-Risk Individuals in Transition, will recruit 800 pretrial jail detainees at risk for suicide. Each participant will be randomly assigned to today's standard care or to Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) method and then followed for one year after release. Outcomes include suicide events, suicide attempts and ideation, psychiatric symptoms, functioning, treatment utilization, problem-solving, belongingness, and cost-effectiveness.

Conditions

Suicide

Keywords

Suicide prevention; Jail

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Suicide Events

  Number of suicide events (a composite of attempts, behaviors, suicide-related hospitalizations, and suicide deaths) in the year following jail release. Events are identified through self-report, hospital records, and death records.

  One year after jail release

Secondary Outcomes (9)

• Suicide Attempts

  One year after release from jail

• Weeks of Active Suicide Ideation

  One year after release from jail

• Severity of Suicide Ideation

  Assessed 1, 4, 8, and 12 months after release from jail, 12 months reported.

• Time to First Suicide Event

  One year after release from jail

• Psychiatric Symptoms

  Assessed 1, 4, 8, and 12 months after release from jail, 12 months reported.

Study Arms (2)

Safety Planning Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Brown and Stanley's Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) is a brief, adjunctive intervention designed to reduce subsequent suicidal behavior in high-risk populations. The core element of SPI is the collaborative development of the Safety Plan, which is a prioritized written list of coping strategies and supports that individuals can use during or preceding suicidal crises. In this study, safety planning will occur during pretrial jail detention, with telephone follow-up in the community to conduct risk assessment, review the Safety Plan, problem-solve obstacles to treatment, and assist with linkage to services.

Behavioral: Safety Planning Intervention

Standard Care

NO INTERVENTION

Standard Care for pretrial jail detainees is assessment of risk and stabilization to the extent possible during their jail detention. No post-release community follow-up is typically provided. This study will augment standard care with regular assessment and emergency referral post-release, as well as provision of a list of community resources.

Interventions

Safety Planning Intervention BEHAVIORAL

Brown and Stanley's Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) is a brief, adjunctive intervention designed to reduce subsequent suicidal behavior in high-risk populations. The core element of SPI is the collaborative development of the Safety Plan, which is a prioritized written list of coping strategies and supports that individuals can use during or preceding suicidal crises. In this study, safety planning will occur during pretrial jail detention, with telephone follow-up in the community to conduct risk assessment, review the Safety Plan, problem-solve obstacles to treatment, and assist with linkage to services.

Also known as: SPI

Safety Planning Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Unsentenced male and female pretrial jail detainees
• + years of age
• at risk for suicide, operationalized as a response of "yes" on item 4 or greater on the initial 5 C-SSRS screening questions, indicating the presence of at least some active suicide ideation with some intent to act in the past month (i.e., individuals at higher risk, such as those who report intent with specific plan and/or suicide attempt/s in the last month, will also be included);
• speak and understand English well enough to understand questionnaires when they are read aloud.

You may not qualify if:

• expects to be sentenced and serve their sentence before being released to the community
• cannot provide the name and contact information of at least two locator persons
• does not have access to any telephone.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Michigan State University: lead
• Brown University: collaborator

Study Sites (2)

Genesee County Jail

Flint, Michigan, 48502, United States

Location

Rhode Island Department of Corrections

Cranston, Rhode Island, 02879, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Weinstock LM, Jones RN, Miller TR, Brown GK, Arias SA, Graves HR, Miller IW, Cerbo L, Rexroth J, Fitting H, Russell D, Kubiak S, Stein MD, Matkovic C, Yen S, Gaudiano BA, Johnson JE. Safety Planning vs Standard Care for Suicide Prevention After Pretrial Jail Detention: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Nov 3;8(11):e2543156. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.43156.

  PMID: 41212557 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Suicide; Suicide Prevention

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Self-Injurious Behavior; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dr. Jennifer Johnson
• Organization: Michigan State University

jjohns@msu.edu

810-730-6121

Study Officials

• Jennifer Johnson, PhD

  Michigan State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Lauren Weinstock, PhD

  Brown University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 26, 2016
• First Posted: May 3, 2016
• Study Start: April 1, 2016
• Primary Completion: December 31, 2019
• Study Completion: December 31, 2019
• Last Updated: December 10, 2025
• Results First Posted: December 10, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share

Locations

US (2)