N/A
Completed N=20
Suicide Prevention Program for Veterans Discharged From Community Care Settings
Suicide Prevention
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06139887 ↗
Enrolled (actual)
20
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
Aug 2025
Primary outcomePrimary: Suicidal Ideation: The Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS) — 2.0; 10.7 units on a scale
Summary
The goal of this pilot randomized controlled trial is to test an adapted suicide prevention program (the Building VA Engagement, Self-efficacy, and Social Support To Prevent Suicide or BESST) in rural Veterans discharged from community care mental health treatment settings. The main question it aims to answer is:
* Does BESST combined with standard care improve suicide-related outcomes among this population compared to standard care alone?
Participants will be assigned by change to a treatment group. Some will receive the BESST intervention combined with standard care, and some will receive standard care alone. All participants will be in this research study for up to three months.
Those receiving the BESST intervention will have:
* 1 one-hour brief educational session;
* Seven follow-up check-ins (~30 minutes each)
All participants will have three assessment interviews where they will be asked about their mental health and treatment received outside of the VA.
The investigators will compare participants assigned to the BESST intervention combined with standard care vs participants assigned to standard care alone to see if the BESST intervention improves suicide-related outcomes.
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY Suicidal Ideation: The Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS) |
2.0; 10.7 | — |
| SECONDARY Hopelessness: Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) |
5.6; 10.4 | — |
| SECONDARY Connectedness: Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-15 (INQ-15) Perceived Burdensomeness |
10.2; 17.4 | — |
| SECONDARY Connectedness: Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-15 (INQ-15) Thwarted Belongingness |
29.1; 32.3 | — |
| SECONDARY Patient Engagement: General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) |
30.4; 28.1 | — |
| SECONDARY Patient Engagement: Suicide-Related Coping Scale (SRCS) External Coping Subscale |
24.6; 22.1 | — |
| SECONDARY Patient Engagement: Suicide Related Coping Scale (SRCS) Internal Coping Subscale |
25.2; 20.2 | — |
| SECONDARY Number of Participants With Suicide Attempts |
0; 0 | — |
| SECONDARY Number of Participants With Substance Use at 3 Months Post-baseline |
3; 5 | — |
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- The patient was recently discharged from a VA community care mental health treatment setting
- The patient is at risk for self-harm
- Be a patient connected to the White River Junction VA Medical Center (VAMC), the Togus VA Medical Center (VAMC), or the Manchester VA Medical Center (VAMC);
- Be a Veteran;
- Be 18 years or older;
- Be able to speak English;
Exclusion Criteria
- Unable to provide informed consent;
- The investigators do not plan to enroll any potentially vulnerable populations including prisoners, institutionalized patients, or involuntarily committed patients;
- Study physician deems the patient not clinically appropriate
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06139887). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication. Informational only — not medical advice.