Citation

Ballard ED, Waldman L, Yarrington JS, Gerlus N, Newman LE, Lee L, Sparks M, Liberty V, Pao M, Park L, Zarate CA. Gen. Hosp. Psychiatry 2019; 62: 43-48.

Affiliation

Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, United States of America.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2019.11.007

PMID

31775068

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Suicide is a public health threat. Nevertheless, the research literature on actively suicidal participants is relatively sparse, in part because they are often excluded from medical, psychiatric, and psychological research for a host of logistical, ethical, and safety concerns. These obstacles to research participation and enrollment may contribute to our lack of understanding regarding the neurobiology of the suicidal crisis as well as to the dearth of evidence concerning both risk prediction and treatment.

METHOD: In order to directly investigate neurobiological markers of acute suicide risk, the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program (NIMH-IRP) implemented the Neurobiology of Suicide protocol. In this protocol, actively suicidal individuals consent to research for both neurobiological assessment and potential rapid-acting interventions.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: This article reviews lessons learned from implementing this protocol in the hopes of assisting future research on the neurobiology of suicide. Areas of specific discussion include the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), recruitment and informed consent, participant monitoring, and the safety of the physical environment.

Published by Elsevier Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

Clinical trials; Implementation; Suicide