# Suicide risk detection and mitigation in patients with head and neck cancer

> **NIH NIH K01** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $161,892

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The goal of this K01 proposal is to provide the candidate with formal training and mentoring in psychiatric
epidemiology, psycho-oncology and implementation science; training needed to pursue an independent career
in implementing interventions to detect and mitigate suicide risks among head and neck (HNC) cancer patients.
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death, and 1 person dies by suicide every 11 minutes in the US. Among
individuals at higher risk of suicide are chronic disease sufferers, including cancer survivors. The suicide mortality
rate for HNC patients is 63.4 per 100,000 person-years, which is four times more than the general US population.
Clearly, suicide is an important public health crisis in the US and is considered a leading health indicator by the
Healthy People initiative. Screening for suicidal ideation is an evidence-based suicide prevention and mitigation
strategy. Several studies have demonstrated that it is feasible and effective to screen patients for suicidal ideation
and behavior in various clinical settings, including general, non-psychiatric emergency room settings. The Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) has endorsed the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) as the tool
of choice for screening for suicidal ideation and behavior. However, suicide screening interventions among HNC
patients are lacking, in part due to the gaps in our understanding of the multilevel barriers associated with
screening HNC patients for risks of suicide. To address this gap, the candidate will utilize the C-SSRS to
characterize suicide risk among HNC patients, and test effectiveness and potential implementability of the C-
SSRS as a routine suicide screening tool in HNC care. Using informant interviews with key stakeholders,
candidate will identify patient, provider and other barriers that could underlie the suboptimal investigation of
suicidal ideation among HNC patients in Aim 1. In Aim 2, candidate will administer the C-SSRS to a group of
HNC patients, providing insights on suicidal ideation and severity among HNC patients in the US. In addition, a
risk management/triage system will be developed to provide follow-up care when suicide risk is detected. Aim 3
will involve a mixed-method evaluation with a subset of patients who received the C-SSRS from Aim 2 to elicit
feedback on the administration of the C-SSRS, and a debrief with providers to assess future implementability of
the C-SSRS as routine part of HNC care. This research will have scientific impact by enhancing our enhancing
our knowledge of the barriers to screening for suicide in the HNC setting. It will have significant clinical impact
through the novel utilization of the C-SSRS in HNC care. Lessons learned will be adopted for future studies in
HNC and across the cancer continuum. The training objective is to address the candidate’s scientific gaps in
psychiatric epidemiology, psycho-oncology, qualitative/mixed methods research design, and i...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10283716
- **Project number:** 1K01DE030916-01
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $161,892
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10283716

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10283716, Suicide risk detection and mitigation in patients with head and neck cancer (1K01DE030916-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10283716. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*