Oral Presentation (max 20 mins) National Suicide Prevention Conference 2025

Developing EDBridge: A brief contact intervention for adolescents at risk of suicide and their parents (#102)

Glenn Melvin 1 , Lachlan James 1 , Ruth Tatnell 1 , Simon Craig 2 3 , Harriet Hiscock 4 5 , Rohan Borschmann 6 7 8 9 , Michael Gordon 10 11
  1. School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
  2. Paediatric Emergency Department, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
  3. Department of Paediatrics, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
  4. Health Services and Economics, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  5. Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  6. Centre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
  7. Department of Psychiatry, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
  8. Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  9. School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  10. Department of Psychiatry, Monash Children's Hospital, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
  11. Early in Life Mental Health Service, Monash Children's Hospital, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

Introduction: Emerging evidence suggests that brief interventions can support reduced suicide risk as part of comprehensive treatment approaches for adolescents at risk of suicide1. The Emergency Department (ED) provides a “window of opportunity” for delivering brief interventions2, particularly through digital tools such as automated text message systems3,4,5. Delivering brief interventions with digital approaches may equip families with additional support needed to manage suicide risk after leaving the ED6.

EDBridge is a new, multi-armed brief contact support program for adolescents who present to the ED at risk of suicide and their parents/carers. This paper describes the development of the psycho-educative ‘factsheet’ and text message program components. The aims were to obtain lived experience input from adolescents, parents, and clinicians to inform the content, tone, and intervention design of EDBridge.

 

Methods: We partnered with a paediatric hospital and community organisations to recruit a sample of 57 participants, including adolescents and parents with lived experience of presenting to the ED with suicide risk, as well as clinicians who have worked with adolescents at risk of suicide. Data collection involved surveys, interviews, and focus groups, conducted separately for the factsheet and text message components. Analysis included descriptive and frequency statistics, and content analysis.


Results: Overall, participants reported wanting more information about how and where to get support, delivered in a compassionate tone that recognises the challenging emotional experience of presenting to the ED with a suicidal adolescent. Results identified eight topics for inclusion in the factsheet, with the most recommended topics being psychoeducation about adolescent suicide risk and clinical pathways for seeking help. For the content of the text message component, participants and clinicians prioritised information about support options, messages of hope and support, and strategies for managing suicide risk. Consumers advised against suggesting services with long waitlists and encouraged personalised messages. Mixed results were found regarding the intervention duration for the text messages. Clinicians favoured a two-week intervention period, while parents and adolescents suggested three months.

 

Conclusion & Implications: Our findings underscore the need for tailored brief interventions with actionable strategies and relevant information for families discharged from the ED after presenting with a suicidal adolescent. The ideal intervention duration is unclear and will be evaluated in a future trial. These insights provide critical information towards the development of a pilot trial for the EDBridge study, which is planned to commence in 2025.

  1. 1. Glenn, C. R., Esposito, E. C., Porter, A. C., & Robinson, D. J. (2019). Evidence base update of psychosocial treatments for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in youth. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 48(3), 357-392. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2019.1591281
  2. 2. Asarnow, J. R., Hughes ,J. L., Babeva, K. N., & Sugar, C. A. (2017). Cognitive-behavioral family treatment for suicide attempt prevention: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(6): 506-514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2017.03.015
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  5. 5. Chu, J. T. W., Wadham, A., Jiang, Y., Whittaker, R., Stasiak, K., Shepherd, M., & Bullen, C. (2019). Effect of MyTeen SMS-based mobile intervention for parents of adolescents: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA network open, 2(9), e1911120-e1911120. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.11120
  6. 6. Goldberg, S. B., Lam, S. U., Simonsson, O., Torous, J., & Sun, S. (2022). Mobile phone-based interventions for mental health: A systematic meta-review of 14 meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. PLOS digital health, 1(1), e0000002. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000002