The purpose of this project is to investigate the effectiveness of the Home-Based Mental Health Evaluation (HOME) program, which is an innovative and culturally-relevant suicide prevention intervention for Veterans aimed at increasing treatment engagement and decreasing suicide risk following psychiatric hospitalization, a period of heightened suicide risk.
The purpose of this project is to investigate the effectiveness of the Home-Based Mental Health Evaluation (HOME) program, which is an innovative and culturally-relevant suicide prevention intervention for Veterans aimed at increasing treatment engagement and decreasing suicide risk following psychiatric hospitalization, a period of heightened suicide risk. The research project employs a multi-site two-arm interventional trial design to study the effectiveness of the HOME program. Effectiveness of the treatment will be evaluated by comparing Veterans receiving the HOME program at two active treatment sites, Denver and Philadelphia Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs), to with those receiving care at two control sites, Houston and Portland VAMCs. The current protocol describes procedures as they will occur at all sites, including those completed locally at the Denver VAMC, which is the lead site for the study.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
323
Prior to discharge from the inpatient unit, the HOME program provider or another member of the research team, will meet individually with the Veteran to provide further information regarding the HOME program intervention. Efforts are made to schedule the initial phone call and home visit that occur during the first week after discharge. Following the home visit, the HOME provider may continue to have weekly contact with the Veteran via the telephone or in person until he or she is disenrolled following engagement in outpatient care. "Engaged in care" is defined as attendance at two individual outpatient mental health appointments or engagement in equivalent or elevated care as determined by the PI. All clinical contacts with the Veteran may include the following: suicide risk assessment, review and modification of the Veteran's safety plan, review and modification of the discharge plan, involvement of the Veteran's support system, and facilitation of engagement in outpatient care.
VA Portland Health Care System
Portland, Oregon, United States
Philadelphia VA Medical Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
Houston, Texas, United States
Treatment Engagement 1
Access to participants' VA electronic medical record will be utilized to address the hypothesis that Veterans participating in the HOME program will be significantly more likely to engage in treatment and or care more quickly. Data collection may be facilitated by VA's Compensation and Pension Record Interchange (CAPRI) and VA's Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW).
Time frame: From discharge from the hospital through 90 days post discharge
Treatment Engagement 3
Access to participants' VA electronic medical record will be utilized to address the hypothesis that Veterans participating in the HOME program will be significantly more likely to attend more outpatient appointments. Data collection may be facilitated by VA's Compensation and Pension Record Interchange (CAPRI) and VA's Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW).
Time frame: From discharge from the hospital through 90 days post discharge
Lower Suicidal Ideation scores
Compared to the E-CARE group, Veterans participating in the HOME program will report significantly lower suicidal ideation scores on the Scale for Suicidal Ideation. The Scale for Suicidal Ideation (SSI) will be used to measure this outcome.
Time frame: 3 months post-discharge
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