A Brief Intervention to Reduce Suicide Risk in Military Service Members and Veterans
Abstract
The Army Suicide Event Reporting (ASER) and the Total Army Injury and Health Outcomes Database (TAIHOD) systems have indicated increasing rates of suicide among Active Army, Guard, and Reserve units over the last several years. Additionally, research has indicated that veterans are more than twice as likely to kill themselves as compared to the general population. There are limited evidence-based suicide prevention interventions that have been developed for military personnel and veterans who are experiencing suicide ideation or who have made a suicide attempt. The objective of the research described in this annual report is to adapt and evaluate a brief, readily accessible, and personalized intervention, safety planning, that aims to reduce suicide risk in military and veteran populations in three ways by: (1) evaluating suicide risk using a structured assessment measure; (2) enhancing suicide-related coping strategies; and (3) increasing acceptability and initiation of appropriate mental health and substance use treatments. This research is unique in that the intervention, safety planning, is being evaluated in both military and VA settings, with the aim of disseminating related educational materials to both military and VA patients and providers. The specific aims are to evaluate the efficacy of the safety planning intervention on suicide ideation, suicide-related coping, and attitudes toward help seeking for hospitalized military personnel at high risk for suicide and to evaluate the effectiveness of the safety planning intervention on suicide attempts, suicide ideation, attendance of outpatient mental health and substance abuse interventions, and suicide- related coping for veterans at high suicide risk in emergency department (ED) settings. Two separate, but related projects are being conducted to compare the study intervention with enhanced usual care conditions on suicide-related outcomes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA593475
Entities
People
- Barbara Stanley
- Glenn Currier
- Gregory Brown
- Kerry Knox
- Lisa A Brenner
- Marjan G. Holloway
Organizations
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine