The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has announced a recently-launched study involving a team of emergency departments (EDs) across the United States to develop a computerized screening tool for use across the nation in EDs to avert potential youth suicides. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens aged 12 to 17 in the United States. The study is called Emergency Department Screen for Teens at Risk for Suicide (ED-STARS). ED-STARS is a collaboration between researchers, the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network and the Whiteriver PHS Indian Hospital. There are 14 participating EDs serving geographically and socially diverse populations participating in the collaborative effort, including American Indian youth, who are at particularly high risk for suicide.

Cheryl King, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan, is the principal investigator on the project, and she will be working with long-time suicide expert and former NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grantee, David A. Brent, M.D., Academic Chief, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, and other colleagues. The team aims to refine algorithms capable of predicting which youth are most likely to attempt suicide and then develop a personalized screening tool in which each question is based on the individual’s previous responses.

Initially 6,000 youths will be screened for suicide risk. Once the data is collected and analyzed, researchers will focus on a subset of the youth that show high risk and that show low risk for suicide. The researchers will follow them for six months, tracking their experiences to develop the computerized adaptive screening tool.

A second study with 2,000 youth will determined the effectiveness of the new screening tool and the associated risk algorithm in predicting suicide attempts. Additionally, the researchers will evaluate the benefit of including a behavioral test of suicidal thoughts as part of the screening process.

According to the research team, once the computerized screening tool is validated, EDs nationwide will have an ED-and patient-friendly tool for screening youths and identifying the rate of risk (low, high or moderate). They anticipate that the screening process will be easy-to-administer and should give ED staff the ability to identify and recommend the proper resources and help save lives.

Learn more about this study.