# Prevention of Suicide in Veterans Through Brief Intervention and Contact (VA-BIC)

> **NIH VA IK2** · WHITE RIVER JUNCTION VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · —

## Abstract

BACKGROUND: Despite work by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a package of suicide
prevention strategies, suicide remains an ongoing problem among Veterans, particularly during the three
months following psychiatric hospitalization. [Current evidence suggests that some of the most important
contributing factors to post-hospitalization suicide risk include poor social connectedness and engagement in
care in the post-discharge period. In response, we developed a promising suicide prevention strategy called
Prevention of suicide: Education, Awareness, Connection, and Engagement (PEACE), which combines a
mobile health (mHealth) technology with a manual-based intervention to increase connectedness and
engagement in care. Our pilot data suggest that a manual-based approach to improving engagement in care
holds great promise in mitigating suicide risk, but could be further enhanced through the addition of a mHealth
strategy to increase social connectedness. Therefore, the next appropriate step is to perform a clinical trial in
order to clarify whether combining these two approaches together is an effective suicide prevention strategy.]
OBJECTIVES: The long-term goal is for the candidate, Dr. Natalie Riblet, to become an independent clinical
researcher focused on developing, testing, and improving interventions to prevent suicide. Her overall
objective for this five-year career development program is to gain the education, mentorship, and research
experience needed to launch her independent clinical research career. Her short-term goal is to obtain the
necessary skills in: [(1) designing and adapting clinical interventions; (2) designing, conducting, and managing
clinical trials]; and (3) performing clinical research in patients at high risk for suicide. Her research objectives
align with these goals. Dr. Riblet’s proposed research project tests the efficacy of [PEACE] in decreasing
suicide risk following psychiatric hospitalization. Her central hypothesis is that [PEACE] plus standard
psychiatric hospital discharge care [(TAU)] leads to a greater reduction in suicidal ideation after psychiatric
hospitalization compared to [TAU] alone. A secondary hypothesis is that [PEACE] exerts its anti-suicidal effect
by [improving social connectedness and engagement in care.] She will submit a merit award proposal in the
last two years of the award period. If the results of this proposal are positive, Dr. Riblet’s merit award proposal
will focus on conducting a multi-site trial of [PEACE], making further improvements to [PEACE], and/or
developing an alternative intervention that better addresses suicide risk.
METHODS: A randomized controlled trial of [PEACE] will be carried out in Veterans who are psychiatrically
hospitalized at the [White River Junction VA Medical Center.] Eligible patients will be recruited over a period of
four years and will be randomized to [PEACE plus TAU or TAU alone.] Patients will be followed for a period of
six months. O...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10010028
- **Project number:** 1IK2CX001920-01A2
- **Recipient organization:** WHITE RIVER JUNCTION VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Natalie Riblet
- **Activity code:** IK2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-10-01 → 2025-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10010028

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10010028, Prevention of Suicide in Veterans Through Brief Intervention and Contact (VA-BIC) (1IK2CX001920-01A2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10010028. Licensed CC0.

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