Caring Contacts: A Strength-based, Suicide Prevention Trial in 4 Native Communities

NCT02825771 | Active Not Recruiting DMC

• 2 other identifiers: UWashington1R01MH106419-01A1
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 711
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives aged 18 years and older. This study will evaluate Caring Contacts, a low-cost, sustainable intervention for suicide prevention that sends caring messages to people at risk. The investigators will implement the intervention at four tribal sites, leveraging community strengths and values to address this tragic health disparity in an underserved minority population.

Conditions

Suicidal Ideation; Suicide, Attempted

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ)

  The SIQ comprises 15 items assessing frequency of suicidal thoughts in the past month

  12 and 18 months

• Suicide Attempt and Self-Injury Count (SASI-Count)

  The SASI-Count interview assesses the method, intent, treatment received, and lethality for all suicide attempts in the follow-up time frame

  12 and 18 months

• Suicide-related hospitalizations

  Hospitalizations will be assessed using the American Indian Services Utilization and Psychiatric Epidemiology Risk and Protective Factors Project (AI-SUPERPFP) measure of service utilization which captures all admissions to inpatient medical and psychiatric care as well as emergency room visits

  12 and 18 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ) Thwarted Belongingness subscale

  12 and 18 months

Study Arms (2)

Usual Care + Caring Contacts messages

EXPERIMENTAL

Usual care services plus caring contacts messages

Behavioral: Caring Contacts Messages; Behavioral: Usual Care

Usual Care

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Usual care services provided in that community following identification of suicidal ideation or behavior.

Behavioral: Usual Care

Interventions

Caring Contacts Messages BEHAVIORAL

Text messages expressing care and support are sent following initial meeting on the following schedule: next day, 6 weekly, 9 bi-weekly, 7 monthly; one each on birthday, holiday, and seasonal (total of 25)

Usual Care + Caring Contacts messages

Usual Care BEHAVIORAL

Usual care consists of services available to the participant in their community to reduce their suicide risk and improve their behavioral health

Usual Care; Usual Care + Caring Contacts messages

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• be suicidal (Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire clinical cut-off score ≥ 32) or have a documented or self-reported suicide attempt within the past year
• be 18 years or older
• self-identify as American Indian or Alaska Native
• are willing to be contacted periodically via text, email, or postal mail
• able to participate voluntarily
• speak and read English

You may not qualify if:

• \) Cognitively unable and willing to independently provide written informed consent

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Washington State University: lead
• University of Washington: collaborator
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Washington State University

Spokane, Washington, 99202, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Hebert LE, Fruhbauerova M, Evanson A, Bogic M, Petras A, Shaw J, Muller CJ, Nelson L, Comtois KA. Caring Texts, a strength-based, suicide prevention trial in 5 native communities: Research design and methods. Contemp Clin Trials. 2022 Dec;123:106966. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2022.106966. Epub 2022 Oct 14.

  PMID: 36252937 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Suicidal Ideation; Suicide, Attempted

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Suicide; Self-Injurious Behavior; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Study Officials

• Lonnie A Nelson, PhD

  Washington State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

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: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 3, 2016
• First Posted: July 7, 2016
• Study Start: May 30, 2018
• Primary Completion: October 31, 2023
• Study Completion: October 31, 2025
• Last Updated: July 30, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)