title: Rationale and study protocol for a two-part intervention: Safety planning and structured follow-up among veterans at risk for suicide and discharged from the emergency department.
abstract: There are no evidence-based, brief interventions to reduce suicide risk in Veterans. Death by suicide is a major public health problem. This article describes a protocol, Suicide Assessment and Follow-up Engagement: Veteran Emergency Treatment [SAFE VET], developed for testing the effectiveness of a brief intervention combining a Safety Planning Intervention with structured follow-up (SPI-SFU) to reduce near-term suicide risk and increase outpatient behavioral health treatment engagement among Veterans seeking treatment at Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) emergency departments (EDs) who are at risk for suicide. In addition to describing study procedures, outcome measures, primary and secondary hypotheses, and human subjects' protection issues, the rationale for the selection of SPI-SFU as the intervention is detailed, as are safety considerations for the unique study setting and sample.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States.
authors.forename: Glenn W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Currier
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
authors.forename: Gregory K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center, Denver, CO, United States; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora CO, United States; Department of Neurology, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora CO, United States.
authors.forename: Lisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Brenner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States; Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chesin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY, United States; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Kerry L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Knox
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical & Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, United States.
authors.forename: Marjan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghahramanlou-Holloway
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States; Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stanley
mesh_terms: D002985:Clinical Protocols; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010351:Patient Discharge; D012107:Research Design; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans; D000092864:Suicide Prevention
keywords: Emergency medicine; Emergency psychiatry; Safety planning intervention; Suicide; Veteran