Supporting Caregivers Following Mental Health Emergency Department Visits

NCT07411300 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: STUDY0000038625-0364
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 75
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The investigators plan to conduct a pilot hybrid effectiveness-implementation type 1 randomized controlled trial comparing 3 arms of varying follow-up intervention. Caregivers of youth ages 10-17 who present to the Lurie Children's Hospital ED with suicidal thoughts or behaviors (STBs) and are discharged with a safety plan will be included in the current study. Families will be randomized to receive either 1) treatment as usual, 2) follow-up phone calls, or 3) automatic electronic medical record (EMR) MyChart messages

Conditions

Safety Plan; Caregiver Participation; Emergency Department Presentation

Keywords

pediatric; randomized; caregivers; suicide; emergency department

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• ED Return Visits

  Count of return visits to the ED for a mental health chief complaint within 90 days from initial ED encounter

  Between baseline enrollment and 90 day follow-up assessment

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Intervention Acceptability

  90 Days follow-up

• Study feasibility

  Baseline

Study Arms (3)

Telephone Calls

EXPERIMENTAL

Parents/guardians are contacted via telephone by a psychiatric social worker within 72 hours of ED discharge, then the family receives weekly phone calls until either they have successfully connected to follow-up mental health services or asks to no longer be contacted. Otherwise phone calls will continue to be made weekly until 60-days post-discharge.

Behavioral: Telephone Calls

Standard Treatment

NO INTERVENTION

The caregiver receives the standard follow-up protocol once the patient has been discharged from the Emergency Department.

Automatic MyChart Messages

EXPERIMENTAL

Parents/guardians receive automatic MyChart messages that will provide educational content and provide support around utilizing safety plans and restricting lethal means as well as the importance of connecting to follow-up care. These messages are sent within 72 hours of discharge then weekly for the first 60-days post-discharge.

Behavioral: Automatic MyChart Messages

Interventions

Telephone Calls BEHAVIORAL

Parents/guardians are contacted via telephone by a psychiatric social worker within 72 hours of ED discharge, then the family receives weekly phone calls until either they have successfully connected to follow-up mental health services or asks to no longer be contacted. Otherwise phone calls will continue to be made weekly until 60-days post-discharge.

Telephone Calls

Automatic MyChart Messages BEHAVIORAL

Parents/guardians receive automatic MyChart messages within 72 hours of ED discharge, then the family receives weekly messages until 60-days post-discharge.

Automatic MyChart Messages

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 10 Years - 17 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Participants are eligible for participation in the current study if they are parent/guardians of youth ages 10-17 who received a psychiatric evaluation in the ED for suicidal thoughts or behaviors and are being discharged with a safety plan

You may not qualify if:

• Parents/guardians will be excluded from recruitment if the youth is in state custody, if they are not proficient in English or Spanish, if the patient is being admitted or transferred for medical or psychiatric hospital admission, or they are not willing to enroll in MyChart through the EMR. The investigators are also only enrolling one caregiver per patient. In other words, if a patient returns to the ED with a different caregiver, the investigators will not enroll the other caregiver.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago: lead
• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois, 60640, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Suicide; Emergencies

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Self-Injurious Behavior; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Disease Attributes; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Central Study Contacts

Amanda Burnside, PhD

CONTACT

312-227-2785; aburnside@luriechildrens.org

Danielle Cory, MENG

CONTACT

3122276312; dcory@luriechildrens.org

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator, Pediatric Psychologist

Model Details: The investigators are comparing three parent/guardian/caregiver follow-up modalities to support families with a youth discharging from the ED who has experienced suicidal thoughts or behaviors. Caregivers may be randomized to receive automatic MyChart messages that provide educational content and support around utilizing safety plans and restricting lethal means as well as the importance of connecting to follow-up care. Caregivers may be randomized to a series of telephone calls from a psychiatric social worker. Caregivers may be randomized to standard of care (standard procedures for a patient being discharged from our ED, no intervention).

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 29, 2026
• First Posted: February 13, 2026
• Study Start: January 26, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2026
• Last Updated: February 13, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)