Qnnections: Refinement and Pilot Trial of a Suicide Prevention Intervention to Increase Social Connection

Conditions

• Social Isolation
• Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

18 Years - N/A

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• Qnnections — BEHAVIORAL
  A novel group-based suicide prevention intervention that augments standard VA mental health services for LGBTQ+ Veterans with current suicidal thoughts or recent suicidal behavior. Informed by the empirically-supported theoretical framework of the interpersonal theory of suicide and prior work tailoring interventions for minority stress, Qnnections is a structured 10-week group that uses a cognitive behavioral framework to target perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. Veterans will also receive safety planning and referrals.
• Enhanced Usual Care — BEHAVIORAL
  The active control condition includes: 1) VA Safety Planning Intervention and 2) referrals to VA and non-VA services relevant to the individual. The safety plan will be conducted by Dr. Chang, a licensed psychologist. Therefore, EUC only differs from the Qnnections condition as it does not have the 10-session Qnnections intervention. EUC is intended to include elements of VA suicide prevention standard practice. The control condition is considered enhanced as all participants will receive these elements, whereas Veterans are not guaranteed to receive all of these services if not enrolled in this study.

Study Details

Despite the high risk of suicide among LGBTQ+ Veterans, there is currently no suicide-focused intervention for this population. This study will refine and pilot Qnnections, a novel group-based suicide prevention intervention that aims to increase social connection and functioning in this population. The project will involve Veterans with lived experience in further refining Qnnections, and then will examine feasibility and acceptability of Qnnections and of study procedures in a pilot randomized clinical trial.

Key Dates

Start date

Mar 1, 2026

Status verified

Mar 2026

Primary completion

Sep 30, 2030

Completion

Sep 30, 2030

Study Design

Enrollment

66 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

OTHER

Arms

• Experimental: Qnnections
  A novel group-based suicide prevention intervention that augments standard VA mental health services for LGBTQ+ Veterans with current suicidal thoughts or recent suicidal behavior. Veterans will also receive safety planning and referrals.
• Active Comparator: Enhanced Usual Care
  The active control condition includes: 1) VA Safety Planning Intervention and 2) referrals to VA and non-VA services relevant to the individual.

Primary Outcome Measure

Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM) [ Time Frame: 10-20 weeks ]

Central Contacts

• Cindy Chang, PsyD
  (786) 853-8782
  [email protected]
• Colin A Depp, PhD
  (858) 822-4251
  [email protected]

Locations (1)

Find similar trials in San Diego, CA

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