title: An emergency department-based brief intervention for veterans at risk for suicide (SAFE VET).
abstract: Reducing deaths from veteran suicide is a public health priority for veterans who receive their care from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and those who receive services in community settings. Emergency departments frequently function as the primary or sole point of contact with the health care system for suicidal individuals; therefore, they represent an important venue in which to identify and treat veterans who are at risk for suicide. We describe the design, implementation and initial evaluation of a brief behavioral intervention for suicidal veterans seeking care at VA emergency departments. Initial findings of the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention suggest it may be transferable to diverse VA and non-VA settings, including community emergency departments and urgent care centers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Rochester, NY, USA. Kerry.Knox@va.gov
authors.forename: Kerry L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Knox
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stanley
authors.forename: Glenn W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Currier
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brenner
authors.forename: Marjan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghahramanlou-Holloway
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006292:Health Priorities; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011634:Public Health; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D000092864:Suicide Prevention