Just-in-time Interventions for Reducing Short-term Suicide Risk
Micro-randomized Trial to Assess Brief, Just-in-time Interventions for Reducing Short-term Suicide Risk
Who can join
Ages 18 and older · All sexes
Full eligibility criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Experiencing suicidal thoughts as part of their inpatient admission * Access to a smartphone following discharge * Ability to speak and write English fluently Exclusion Criteria: * Any factor that impairs the ability to effectively participate in the study (e.g., significant cognitive impairment, intellectual disability, presence of violent behavior, psychotic illness/symptoms determined by the treating clinician to impair ability to understand the study or provide informed consent) * Failure to correctly answer all true/false questions in the consent form
About the study
The goal of this study is to test the effects of just-in-time intervention strategies aimed to promote implementation of the safety plan and its components at different levels of suicidal urges and intent. The main questions the investigators aim to answer are:
1. What is the acceptability and feasibility of the just-in-time intervention strategies? 2. What are the proximal effects of just-in-time intervention strategies aimed to promote use of the safety plan and its components? 3. What internal and external contextual factors moderate the just-in-time intervention effects?
Participants (adults hospitalized for suicidal thoughts or behaviors) will:
* Answer questions about current suicidal thoughts on their smartphone up to 4 times each day during both hospitalization and the 4 weeks after they leave the hospital * Each time they submit a survey, be immediately randomized to receive (or not receive) a just-in-time intervention tailored to their level of current suicidal thoughts * Answer brief follow-up questions on their smartphone within a couple hours of each randomization * Provide feedback on their experience with the just-in-time interventions
What is being tested
- Phone call (behavioral)
- Text messaging (behavioral)
- Automated interactive smartphone-based tool (behavioral)
- Non-interactive pop-up messages (behavioral)
Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital · Participants: 185 · Started: Nov 19, 2024
Contact the study team
- Kate Bentley, PhD · Phone: 617-724-7741
Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT05793541
Locations in the U.S.
| Massachusetts | Mass General Brigham, Boston |
Conditions
From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.