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PREVAIL-VA for Veteran Suicide Prevention

This study is testing a program called PREVAIL-VA to help prevent suicide in Veterans who have serious mental illness (SMI). PREVAIL-VA involves 12 one-on-one sessions over three months with a Peer Specialist (PS). PSs are Veterans with SMI who use their own experiences to support other Veterans. The study will compare Veterans receiving PREVAIL-VA to those receiving usual care. You might be able to join if you are a Veteran aged 18 or older with a moderate to high risk of suicide in the past three months. The study will measure changes in suicide risk using specific scales at the beginning, 3 months, and 6 months to see if PREVAIL-VA is effective. The current status of this study is unclear.

Study design
This is an interventional study planning to enroll 306 participants. It compares the PREVAIL-VA program to usual care.
What's involved
You would participate in 12 one-on-one sessions with a Peer Specialist over three months. Your suicide risk will be measured at the start, 3 months, and 6 months.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Your suicide risk will be assessed at 3 months and 6 months after starting the study.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT07286383

Testing the Use of VA Peer Specialists to Prevent Veteran Suicide

Not Yet Recruiting
NAAges 18+InterventionalHealth services
VA Office of Research and Development
~306 participants
Updated 2026-08-21 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:PREVAIL

At a glance

Recruiting sites
0 of 3 listed sites are recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Computerized Adaptive Test- Suicide Scale; Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale
Measured over Baseline, 3 months, 6 months

Conditions

Suicide Risk

Explore related trials

Suicide risk

Where it's being run

3 sites across 3 states
Maryland1
Michigan1
Pennsylvania1

Study leadership

  • Matthew J Chinman, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System University Drive Division, Pittsburgh, PA

Who to contact

Matthew J Chinman, PhD
[email protected]
(412) 360-2438
Email the study team

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Do you actually qualify for this trial?

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

Moderate to high suicide risk according to one of the following occurring in the prior 3 months:
a completed Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluation (CSRE) indicating intermediate or high acute or chronic risk
a high-risk suicide PRF
a suicide attempt indicated on a Suicide Behavior or Overdose Report (SBOR)
a suicide safety plan completed in the past 6 months
Current suicidal ideation according to the 9th item of the Patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) \> 0 at enrollment
While a positive 9th item usually precedes the CSRE, because the CSRE could have been administered in the 3 months prior to enrollment, the purpose of requiring a positive 9th item is to ensure more recent suicidal ideation.
It may be more difficult to show an intervention effect if the investigators enroll participants with no suicidal ideation at baseline.

Exclusion

Inability to provide informed consent for any reason, including due to acute psychosis or mania, dementia, or active guardianship or durable power of attorney
These criteria will be determined according to medical record review and, if clarification needed, consultation with a treating provider.
The investigators will also screen for decision-making capacity using the Blessed Orientation, Memory, Concentration (BOMC) Test and a brief quiz about the study.
This quiz will involve an iterative process of querying the participants' understanding of consent information with a 10-item true/false test and providing feedback until an acceptable level of understanding is achieved (must get 100% correct after 3 tries to enroll).
Current or planned receipt of residential or intensive outpatient treatment
Plan to transfer or terminate care in the next 3 months
Homicidal ideation in the past 6 months or violent behavior in the past 12 months

What this trial measures

  • Computerized Adaptive Test- Suicide Scale; Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating ScaleBaseline, 3 months, 6 months

    The primary outcome is the CAT-SS, which measures suicide risk severity on a 100- point scale with 5 points of precision (1= lowest, 100 = highest). The CAT-SS is an adaptive measure based on a bank of 111-items-i.e., an algorithm presents items (\~10 per subject) based on answers to previous items. The CAT-SS provides a crosswalk between suicidal ideation items and items that are drawn from domains of depression and anxiety that are strongly correlated with suicidal ideation (e.g., helplessness, hopelessness, anhedonia). Thus, it is a more general measure of suicide risk (vs. a measure of suicidal ideation specifically), does not depend on participants endorsing suicidal ideation to score in the high-risk range, nor does it suffer from floor effects like other traditional suicidal ideation measures (e.g., Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation).