Can a quick call or text prevent suicide? new study tests Just-in-Time help
NCT ID NCT05793541
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether brief phone calls or text messages from a trained clinician can help people hospitalized for suicidal thoughts use their safety plan. Participants answer questions on their smartphone up to 4 times a day and may receive a just-in-time intervention based on their current risk level. The goal is to see if these quick interventions reduce suicidal urges and improve coping.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Phone calls and text messages from a trained clinician
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a practical, real-time way to help people manage suicidal thoughts and stay safe.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study with only 185 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The interventions are brief and may not be enough to prevent suicide in all cases.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 185 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2024
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Experiencing suicidal thoughts as part of their inpatient admission * Access to a smartphone following discharge * Ability to speak and write English fluently Exclusion Criteria: * Any factor that impairs the ability to effectively participate in the study (e.g., significant cognitive impairment, intellectual disability, presence of violent behavior, psychotic illness/symptoms determined by the treating clinician to impair ability to understand the study or provide informed consent) * Failure to correctly answer all true/false questions in the consent form
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Mass General Brigham
RECRUITINGBoston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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