Caring Contacts Via Text Message for Suicidal Adolescents After Emergency Department Discharge

NCT07043764 — Not applicable, Recruiting, 56 participants, Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

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Caring Texts for Adolescents to Reduce Suicide Risk

Registry	NCT07043764
Status	Recruiting
Phase	Not applicable
Study type	Interventional; randomized, parallel, masking: none, treatment
Enrollment	56 (Estimated)
Sponsor	Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago (Other); collaborators: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Conditions	Suicide Prevention
Interventions	Caring Contacts Text Messages (Other)
Dates	start 2026-09-15, primary completion 2028-08-01 (estimated), completion 2028-08-01 (estimated), first posted 2025-06-29, last updated 2026-09-21
Locations	1 site in United States

-Summary

The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to learn if Caring Contacts (brief, hopeful, supportive text messages) can be delivered to adolescents with suicidal thoughts or behaviors after discharge from the emergency department, and to understand if adolescents find it acceptable to receive Caring Contacts. Researchers will also begin to explore how suicidal thoughts and behaviors change over time among participants who receive Caring Contacts along with treatment as usual, compared to participants who only receive treatment as usual.

All participants will be invited to answer survey questions when they first enroll in the study and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after their emergency department visit. Some participants will receive Caring Contacts (brief, hopeful, supportive text messages) after their emergency department visit. Some participants will be invited to complete an interview about their experiences receiving Caring Contacts.

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+Arms and interventions

Arm	Type	Interventions	Description
Treatment as Usual	No intervention		Treatment as usual consists of a suicide risk assessment during the emergency department visit, determination of disposition, safety planning, provision of crisis resources, and coordination of follow-up mental health services if indicated.
Caring Contacts	Experimental	Other: Caring Contacts Text Messages	In addition to Treatment as Usual, participants will receive Caring Contacts, consisting of brief, hopeful, supportive text messages.

Caring Contacts Text Messages (Other): Caring Contacts are brief, hopeful, supportive text messages.

+Outcome measures

Primary outcomes

Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) Self-Report Recent [Baseline, 1 Month, 3 Months, 6 Months, 12 Months]: The Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) Self-Report Recent measures recent suicidal ideation and behavior on a scale of 0-5, with higher scores indicating greater severity.

+Eligibility

Sex: All, ages: 12 Years to 17 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

* 12 to <18 years of age
* Present to the emergency department with suicidal thoughts or behaviors as indicated by the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ)
* Have a cell phone that can receive text messages
* Proficient in English
* Anticipated disposition of discharge from the emergency department

Exclusion Criteria:

* In care of the Department of Children and Family Services
* Unable to participate meaningfully in assent, assessments, or the intervention, as determined by the treating clinician, including any of the following: acute or chronic cognitive impairment, acute psychosis, current severe agitation, current alcohol or drug intoxication

+Locations (1)

Facility	City	Country	Status
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago	Chicago, Illinois	United States	Recruiting

+Investigators

Jennifer A. Hoffmann, MD, MS, Principal investigator, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University

+Funding

NIH grants: K23MH135206