How Veterans Crisis Line calls lead to emergency 911 dispatches
Official title: A Multi-Method Examination of Veteran Crisis Line Emergency Dispatches
Funded at Syracuse VA Medical Center · NIH-11445641 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether Veterans Crisis Line calls that trigger 911 dispatches help high-risk Veterans get treatment and reduce suicide deaths.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Syracuse VA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Syracuse, United States) |
| Project start | March 1, 2021 |
| Project end | September 30, 2025 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01HX003236-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11445641 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are U.S. Veterans who have contacted the Veterans Crisis Line and are considered at high risk for suicide, including those who experienced an emergency dispatch.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not Veterans, who never called the Veterans Crisis Line, or who are at low suicide risk would not be expected to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
Researchers will link Veterans Health Administration records with emergency dispatch (911) data to see what happens after crisis-line calls that result in a dispatch. They will compare outcomes such as treatment visits within 30 days and suicide death risk over 365 days for callers who did and did not have an emergency dispatch. The team will also collect Veterans' and emergency responders' experiences about what occurred during dispatches. Results will be used to identify situations where dispatches are lifesaving versus when they may cause unintended harm.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help the VA refine when and how emergency responders are sent after crisis-line calls to save lives and reduce harmful consequences.
How similar studies have gone: This approach is relatively novel—few prior studies have linked VCL dispatches to long-term outcomes, so direct evidence is limited.
Where this research is happening
-
Syracuse VA Medical Center
Syracuse, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Britton, Peter C — Syracuse VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Britton, Peter C
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.