Using VA Peer Specialists to Help Prevent Veteran Suicide

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

The trial compares PREVAIL-VA, a 3-month program of semi-structured conversations focusing on hope, belonging, support, and safety, delivered by trained VA Peer Specialists to Veterans at risk for suicide versus usual care. It targets Veterans with serious mental illness and recent suicide risk indicators. The study uses a randomized or controlled design to assess whether peer-led support improved outcomes related to suicidality and recovery. PSs bring lived experience to support recovery-oriented care, aiming to expand access to evidence-based, personalized services within the VA system. This is the first rigorous test of a peer-delivered suicide prevention approach in the VHA.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

There are two Inclusion criteria:

* Moderate to high suicide risk according to one of the following occurring in the prior 3 months:

  * a completed Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluation (CSRE) indicating intermediate or high acute or chronic risk
  * a high-risk suicide PRF
  * a suicide attempt indicated on a Suicide Behavior or Overdose Report (SBOR)
  * a suicide safety plan completed in the past 6 months

AND

* Current suicidal ideation according to the 9th item of the Patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) \> 0 at enrollment

  * While a positive 9th item usually precedes the CSRE, because the CSRE could have been administered in the 3 months prior to enrollment, the purpose of requiring a positive 9th item is to ensure more recent suicidal ideation.
  * It may be more difficult to show an intervention effect if the investigators enroll participants with no suicidal ideation at baseline.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Inability to provide informed consent for any reason, including due to acute psychosis or mania, dementia, or active guardianship or durable power of attorney

  * These criteria will be determined according to medical record review and, if clarification needed, consultation with a treating provider.
  * The investigators will also screen for decision-making capacity using the Blessed Orientation, Memory, Concentration (BOMC) Test and a brief quiz about the study.
  * This quiz will involve an iterative process of querying the participants' understanding of consent information with a 10-item true/false test and providing feedback until an acceptable level of understanding is achieved (must get 100% correct after 3 tries to enroll).
* Current or planned receipt of residential or intensive outpatient treatment
* Plan to transfer or terminate care in the next 3 months
* Homicidal ideation in the past 6 months or violent behavior in the past 12 months

Where it's running

• Baltimore VA Medical Center VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD
  Baltimore, Maryland, United States Recruiting
• VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System University Drive Division, Pittsburgh, PA
  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Recruiting
• VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI
  Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States Active not recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Matthew J Chinman, PhD — VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System University Drive Division, Pittsburgh, PA
• Study coordinator: Matthew J Chinman, PhD
• Email: matthew.chinman@va.gov
• Phone: (412) 360-2438

Similar studies

Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.

• New Generation Therapies for Suicide: Refining Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

  This study tests different sequences and doses of Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to see if it better reduces suicide risk in adults with recent suicidal thoughts or behavior.

  Recruiting Ohio State University · Columbus, Ohio · NCT07818889

• Group cognitive-behavioral therapy with added mobile app and digital monitoring for women with eating disorders and recent suicide risk

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  Recruiting Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona · Sabadell, Barcelona · NCT07417826

• Get Better Together weekend for military couples

  This program tests whether a weekend Get Better Together retreat helps military couples improve relationship skills and mental health and reduce problems like alcohol misuse, aggression, and suicide risk.

  Recruiting Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine · Bethesda, Maryland · NCT07096271

• Suvorexant (an orexin blocker) for suicide risk in veterans with major depressive disorder

  This trial will try daily suvorexant for four weeks to see if it is safe and tolerable for veterans with major depressive disorder who have had suicidal thoughts or attempts.

  Recruiting Phase 2 Bronx Veterans Medical Research Foundation, Inc · The Bronx, New York · NCT06854224

• Treatment for individuals involved with the criminal justice system to assess and prevent suicide risk

  This study is testing a new way to help people in the criminal justice system who are at risk of suicide by using health and jail records to provide better support and treatment.

  Recruiting Cambridge Health Alliance · Cambridge, Massachusetts · NCT06564948

• Long-term follow-up of individuals with mood disorders

  This study looks at how mood disorders like depression and bipolar disorder affect people over time and gathers information to see how their mental health and treatments have changed.

  Recruiting National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC) · Bethesda, Maryland · NCT04877977

How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.