Recruiting

Enhanced Outreach Intervention

Sponsor:

Massachusetts General Hospital

Code:

NCT05825820

Conditions

Suicide

Suicide, Attempted

Suicidal Ideation

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Enhanced Outreach Intervention (EOI) plus Care as Usual

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this clinical trial is to test an enhanced outreach intervention (EOI) delivered by Samaritans of Boston (a community organization that provides support during mental health crises) for people after they leave an emergency department (ED) visit for suicidal thoughts. The main questions the trial aims to answer are:

  • Is the EOI feasible and acceptable?
  • Can the EOI be delivered with fidelity by Samaritans staff?

Participants will:

  • Receive outreach (by call or text) once per week for 12 weeks after ED visit. During these conversations, Samaritans staff will ask participants questions about their suicidal thoughts and behaviors, develop and review a list of coping skills to use if they have suicidal thoughts, and discuss plans for receiving mental health care.
  • Receive caring messages from Samaritans staff at least once per week.
  • Be asked to complete monthly self-report questionnaires, and participate in a phone interview with study staff at the end of the study.

Conditions

Suicide

Suicide, Attempted

Suicidal Ideation

Study ID

NCT05825820

Start date

Jul 31, 2026

Status verified date

Aug, 2026

Completion date

Feb, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jan, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Currently a patient being treated and evaluated by psychiatry service in an MGB ED
2. Participants enrolled in another study (NCT05671133; PI Nock) conducted by the research team who fall into the top 50% of risk based on the suicide risk prediction algorithm used in that study
3. Able to read English
4. Ownership of a smartphone (iOS or Android) and consistent access to their smartphone following discharge from the current treatment unit or program; ability to be reliably contacted
5. Willing to provide contact information for collateral contact
6. Willing to share contact information and key clinical information with Samaritans of Boston
7. Consent to unencrypted text or email communications
8. Willing to provide social security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) for study compensation

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Any factor that impairs an individual's ability to comprehend and effectively participate in informed consent, including the presence of gross cognitive impairment due to florid psychosis, intellectual disability, dementia, or acute intoxication
2. Presence of extremely agitated or violent behavior at the time of consent or enrollment

Study Design

Enrollment

20 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Prevention

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Enhanced Outreach Intervention plus Care as Usual

Participants will receive the Enhanced Outreach Intervention (EOI) plus care as usual for 12 weeks after ED discharge.

Interventions

Enhanced Outreach Intervention (EOI) plus Care as Usual

The EOI will contain four main components: safety planning, caring contacts, care engagement, and risk assessment.

A phone call (or text messaging) from Samaritans staff will be conducted every week of the 12 week intervention. Conversations will use a standardized phone script to (a) conduct a risk assessment, (b) develop and review a list of coping skills to use if you have suicidal thoughts, and (c) discuss participants' plans for receiving mental health care. Samaritans staff will also send a caring text message or email at least once per week.

Participants will also receive standard care that hospitals give for individuals who present to the ED with suicidal thoughts.

Primary outcome measure

  • Self-Report Ratings of Intervention Acceptability [ Time Frame: Week 12 of the intervention ]
  • Self-Report Ratings of Intervention Feasibility [ Time Frame: Week 12 of the intervention ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Rebecca Fortgang, PhD

617-726-2000RFORTGANG@mgh.harvard.edu

Sarah Knoll, BA

617-726-5164SJKNOLL@MGH.HARVARD.EDU

Locations

Massachusetts General Hospital

Recruiting

Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114

Contacts

Jordan W Smoller, MD, ScD

617-724-0835JSMOLLER@MGB.ORG

More Information

Sponsor

Massachusetts General Hospital

Last update posted

Aug 17, 2026

Last verified

Aug, 2026

Keywords

  • Suicide
  • Suicidal Thoughts

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Massachusetts General Hospital on 2026-08-17.