Background: Levels of help-seeking remain low among Veterans at risk for suicide. Veterans are most likely to disclose suicidal thoughts to close supports-family, friends, caregivers, and peers-who are, in turn, very interested in learning how they might be able to help a Veteran in need. VA S.A.V.E. (Signs; Ask; Validate; Encourage) is a suicide prevention gatekeeper training that can address this opportunity by teaching close supports the skills to identify signs of suicide risk and connect the at-risk Veteran to professional treatment.
Significance: This project evaluates an "upstream" public health approach to suicide prevention that is closely aligned with VA's National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide. Suicide prevention remains VA's top clinical priority, and this project is highly responsive to multiple top VA priorities in research and clinical operations including studies testing outreach strategies to the families of Veterans and conducting clinical trials in suicide prevention.
Innovation \& Impact: Building upon a successful pilot randomized controlled trial of VA S.A.V.E., this randomized controlled effectiveness trial will be the first to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of VA's signature suicide prevention skills training. Innovations include used of social media and digital outreach for upstream suicide prevention in Veterans not in VA care and use of standardized patient simulation as a method to assess participants' suicide prevention skills.
Specific Aims: The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of VA S.A.V.E. and to explore factors impacting its potential widespread implementation. Specific Aims are: 1) Determine the effectiveness of VA S.A.V.E. in close supports of Veterans; 2) Evaluate mediators and moderators of response to VA S.A.V.E.; and 3) Using qualitative interviews and quantitative survey data, identify barriers to future implementation of VA S.A.V.E. and potential strategies for overcoming them in a diverse sample of close supports of Veterans.
Methodology: The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled effectiveness trial of VA S.A.V.E. using a targeted social media and digital ad campaign to recruit close supports likely to have interactions with Veterans at risk of suicide. Participants (N=710) will be randomized to VA S.A.V.E. versus an informational video (control). The investigators will conduct follow-up surveys over 12 months. The primary outcomes comprise use of gatekeeper behaviors (inquiring about suicidal ideation, recommending professional treatment, and providing suicide prevention hotline information). In a subgroup of participants split equally between treatment arms (n=50), the investigators will also assess suicide prevention skills using a standardized patient simulation. Finally, guided by the Proctor taxonomy as an implementation framework, the investigators will interview a subgroup of participants (n=32-48) to understand their experiences talking about suicide with at-risk Veterans and identify barriers and facilitators to implementation of the training in close supports.
Next Steps/Implementation: The next step in this line of research would be a hybrid type 2 trial (equal focus on effectiveness and implementation). VA S.A.V.E. is free, brief, and accessible training, making it highly amenable to being rapidly taken to scale. Project findings can be used to quickly inform VA social media campaigns and other community-based efforts to disseminate VA S.A.V.E.
