Efficient, Holistic, Heuristic and Semi-structured Suicide Assessment Tool (EHSSA) - Very Accurate Prediction of Risk.

Suicide Risk Clinical Trial

— EHSSA  

Official title:

Predicting Suicide: E.H.S.S.A. - An Efficient, Holistic, Heuristic and Semi-structured Suicide Assessment Tool for Accurately Predicting, in a Specific Patient, the Risk of Suicide in the Reasonably Foreseeable Future. (EHSSA)

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04888533
• Other study ID #: EHSSA prospective study- PESP
• Status: Completed
• Start date: August 1, 2019
• Est. completion date: January 31, 2020

Study information

• Verified date: May 2021
• Source: Care Plus NJ, Inc.
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

Many studies have found that insights regarding suicide risk-factors for cohorts does not translate to practical value in the identification of such risk in specific individuals. E.H.S.S.A. - a suicide assessment tool that was empirically designed by an emergency psychiatry department (P.E.S.P. of Bergen County) in its effort to accurately predict, in specific patients, the risk of suicide attempts in the reasonably foreseeable future. It is of a unique paradigm that combines critical elements of holism, heuristics and semi-structured design.

Description:

Objective: Many studies have found that insight regarding suicide risk-factors for cohorts does not translate to practical value in the identification of such risk in specific individuals. This performance improvement study formally examined the effectiveness of "EHSSA" (efficient, holistic/heuristic semi-structured suicide-risk assessment) - an empirically derived tool designed by this emergency psychiatry department. It is a suicide assessment tool for predicting in a specific patient (as opposed to a cohort), the risk of serious suicide attempts in the reasonably foreseeable future. Methods: At P.E.S.P. (Psychiatric Emergency Screening Program) of Bergen County of New Jersey, a prospective performance improvement study was done on all patients (N = 1,505) that had presented with psychiatric crisis to the department over the course of a 6 month period, (of which approximately 50% had significant suicidal ideations). The only exclusionary criteria was active delirium. Each patient was evaluated using "EHSSA" by departmentally trained mental health professionals. Patients were deemed to either require hospitalization or be safe to be discharged to the community (with appropriate outpatient referrals). Those that were discharged (N = 137) were followed up with phone calls approximately 15 days post discharge.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 1505
• Est. completion date: January 31, 2020
• Est. primary completion date: January 31, 2020
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: N/A and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients of any age/gender/economic class with or without dementia and/or substance use disorders
• All patients presenting to P.E.S.P.(Psychiatric Emergency Screening Program of Bergen County) in psychiatric distress/crisis.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Active Delirium.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Suicide
• Suicide Risk

Intervention

Other:
• EHSSA- An Efficient and Holistic/Heuristic Semi-structured Suicide Assessment Tool
EHSSA will be used to evaluate every patient for suicide risk.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Care Plus NJ, Inc.- PESP (Psychiatric Emergency Screening Program)	Paramus	New Jersey

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Care Plus NJ, Inc.

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Rate or number of completed or attempted suicide.	Reported/ascertained cases among the cohort of completed or serious suicide attempts within 15 days of EHSSA evaluation and discharge to community or until the start of treatment with an outpatient mental health professional, whichever came sooner.	6 months