Text messages to help parents after a teen’s ED visit for suicide risk
Official title: Effectiveness of text-based support for parents of suicidal adolescents following emergency department visits
Funded at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor · NIH-11324609 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A parent-facing text-message program supports families after a teen’s emergency department visit for suicidal thoughts or attempts, aiming to reduce repeat crises.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Michigan at Ann Arbor NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ann Arbor, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $778,374 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH137012-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11324609 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Families with a adolescent or young teen who has recently been discharged from the ED after a suicide-related crisis.
✕Less likely to help
Families without access to text messaging or with different care plans may see limited or no benefit.
What this research studies
If your child has recently been discharged from the emergency department for suicidal thoughts or actions, this project tests a tailored text-message program for you as a parent. The program combines adolescent-focused messages that encourage you to engage in safety steps with parent-focused messages that support your own well-being, delivered over six weeks. The approach uses a Just-In-Time Adaptive Intervention framework to adapt messages to your family’s changing needs and circumstances. The study builds on a prior pilot and aims to determine whether this text-based support reduces repeat suicide-related events in youth and improves family mechanisms that support safety.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, families could have a practical, scalable tool to help keep adolescents safer after ED visits.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier pilots suggested improved safety behaviors and fewer post-ED youth suicide attempts.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Czyz, Ewa Karina — University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
- Study coordinator: Czyz, Ewa Karina
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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.