Developing Text-based Support for Parents of Adolescents After an Emergency Department Visit

University of Michigan

Status: Completed

Conditions: Suicide

Treatments: Behavioral: P-F texting component; Behavioral: A-F texting component

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT05058664

1R34MH124767-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

HUM00184110

Details and patient eligibility

About

The researchers seek to develop a text message intervention for caregivers of adolescents at elevated suicide risk following discharge from emergency department (ED) care.

Full description

Participants in the trial included 120 youth-parent dyads (120 youths and 120 parents). As the ultimate focus of the intervention is on improving youth outcomes, participant-related descriptives are provided for youth participants, except where noted specifically to be parent-related data.

Enrollment: 240 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 13+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Parent eligibility:

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parent of eligible teen

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not owning a cell phone with text messaging capability.

Teen eligibility:

Inclusion Criteria:

• Recent suicidal ideation (within last 2 weeks) and/or suicide attempt within the last month.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Youth with severe cognitive impairment or altered mental status (e.g., psychosis, manic state)
• Youth with severe aggression/agitation
• No availability of a legal guardian

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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240 participants in 3 patient groups

Control (standard care)

No Intervention group

A-F texting component

Experimental group

Description:

The A-F texting component will include content consistent with best-practice recommendations for parents to buffer youth against suicide risk.

Treatment:

Behavioral: A-F texting component

A-F texting plus P-F texting component

Experimental group

Description:

A-F texting plus P-F texting component arm includes the A-F component, as above, and P-F component. The P-F component includes an embedded micro-randomized trial (MRT) involving two daily randomizations to P-F message vs. no message conditions for the duration of the 6-week intervention. Participants who are randomized to this arm will be randomized twice each day (morning and evening) to either receive or not receive the P-F message at each randomization.

Treatment:

Behavioral: P-F texting component

Behavioral: A-F texting component