Answering the Alarm: A System of Care for Black Youth at Risk for Suicide
New York University
Summary
The overall goal of this study is to respond to the urgent need for an effective suicide prevention strategy for Black youth by examining the effectiveness of a systems-level strategy to recognize and respond to suicide risk among Black adolescents who present to emergency departments (EDs). The proposed strategy, WeCare, combines combines three components: (1) universal screening using the Computerized Adaptive Screen for Suicidal Youth (CASSY), (2) a brief intervention designed for Black youth with elevated suicide risk in for ED settings, Connections for Safety (CFS), that combines safety planning and strategies to support linkage to outpatient mental health services, and (3) supportive text messages to youth and parent/caregivers for six weeks following the youth's ED visit. Study objectives are (1) to integrate input from multiple stakeholders to inform and facilitate WeCare implementation, and (2) to use a hybrid one effectiveness-implementation design to evaluate its effectiveness.
Description
From 1991 through 2017, suicide attempts increased by 73% among Black high school-aged youth, and suicide attempts requiring hospitalization increased by 122% for Black high school-aged boys. These alarming findings, in part, led to the creation of the Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health and their subsequent report, Ring the Alarm: The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America, and passage of the Pursuing Equity in Mental Act. These all highlight the urgent need to improve suicide risk detection, treatment, and prevention among Black youth. We propose to respond to the…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 12–19 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion criteria adolescent and parent/guardians: * Adolescents aged 12-17 years and their parents or guardians, and adolescents 18-19 years who have the option for their parent or guardian to participate * Having a parent/caregiver present in the ED to consent (12-17 year olds, only) * Having a cellular phone with text messaging capacity * Adolescent able to speak English, and understand study questions * Parents able to consent in English, Spanish, French or Creole * Meet screening criteria Exclusion criteria adolescent and parent/guardians: * Adolescent is medically unstable * Adolesce…
Interventions
- BehavioralWeCare
WeCare combines two evidence-based strategies -- universal screening using the Computerized Adaptive Screen for Suicidal Youth and an adapted version of the SAFETY-ACUTE, which incorporates PI Lindsey's extensive work with Black youth, their families, and community stakeholders to develop culturally tailored strategies for addressing treatment barriers.
Location
- Kings County HospitalNew York, New York