Brief Problem-solving Intervention in Different Formats for the Prevention of Suicide in Adults Over 50 (SOLPROSU50+)

University of Santiago de Compostela

Status: Active, not recruiting

Conditions: Suicide

Treatments: Behavioral: Problem-solving-based psychological intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06338904

PID2022-141225OB-I00

Details and patient eligibility

About

Suicide represents a personal tragedy and an enormous global public health problem. One of the most vulnerable groups is adults 50 years and older. Despite this stage of life is particularly amenable to the implementation of targeted suicide prevention strategies, we have few studies of the efficacy of psychological interventions, those that do exist have methodological limitations, and none were implemented in formats other than face-to-face, which limits their accessibility. There is a need for brief psychological interventions that can be administered in both face-to-face and remote formats, do not require long training periods, and are effective in different contexts: for example, problem-solving therapy. The main objective of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of a brief problem-solving psychological intervention for targeted suicide prevention in people aged 50 years and older, administered in face-to-face, conference call, and smartphone app formats. A randomized controlled trial will be performed. Participants will be recruited through healthcare centers in the Autonomous Community of Galicia (Spain). To be included, participants must: (a) be at least 50 years old, (b) reside in Galicia, and (c) present suicidal ideation. Subjects will be excluded if they: (a) present serious mental health or medical disorders; (b) have begun receiving psychological or psychopharmacological treatment in the previous two months or are participating in other suicide prevention research; (c) do not have an appropriate mobile device or sufficient fluency to communicate in Spanish, or have problems that make it impossible to participate; or (d) plan to move in the next 18 months. At pre-intervention information will be collected on sociodemographic, family, personal history, current suicide risk and other clinical variables. 212 participants will be randomly assigned to (1) a problem-solving-based psychological intervention delivered face-to-face (PSPI-FF; experimental group 1); (2) a problem-solving-based psychological intervention delivered via telephone conference call (PSPI-CC; experimental group 2); (3) a problem-solving-based psychological intervention delivered via a smartphone app (PSPI-A; experimental group 3); or (4) a usual care control group (UCCG). Participants in the experimental groups will complete the six sessions/modules of the interventions. Finally, subjects in all groups will be evaluated at post-intervention and 3, 6 and 12-month follow-ups.

Enrollment: 212 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 50+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Be at least 50 years old
• Reside in Galicia
• Present suicidal ideation

Exclusion criteria

• Present serious mental health or medical disorders
• Have begun receiving psychological or psychopharmacological treatment in the previous two months or are participating in other suicide prevention research
• Do not have an appropriate mobile device or sufficient fluency to communicate in Spanish, or have problems that make it impossible to participate
• Plan to move in the next 18 months.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Quadruple Blind

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212 participants in 4 patient groups

Problem-solving-based psychological intervention delivered in a face-to-face format (PSPI-FF)

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this group will receive a problem-solving intervention for suicide prevention in a face-to-face format. The intervention will consist of 6 sessions, approximately 90 minutes in duration each, once a week, in a group format, in person.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Problem-solving-based psychological intervention

Problem-solving-based psychological intervention delivered via telephone conference call (PSPI-CC)

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this group will receive the intervention described in a teleconference call format, with the same duration, contents, and structure.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Problem-solving-based psychological intervention

Problem-solving-based psychological intervention delivered via a smartphone app (PSPI-A)

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this group will receive the intervention described adapted to be administered through a smartphone app, with equivalent duration, content, and structure (approximately 90 minutes to complete each of the 6 modules).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Problem-solving-based psychological intervention

Usual care (UCCG)

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants in this group will receive usual care. Usual treatment will include individual and group psychotherapy and/or psychiatric medication as determined by the health professionals they are currently consulting, whether in public or private facilities.