# The BH-Works Suicide Prevention Program for Sexual and Gender Minority Youth

> **NIH NIH R34** · VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INST AND ST UNIV · 2024 · $263,102

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for 15-to-24-year-olds in the United States. Compared to their
heterosexual and cisgender peers, sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents report significantly higher
rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Unfortunately, many barriers complicate the implementation of
suicide prevention in SGM communities. SGM youth often report feeling unwelcome and misunderstood in
traditional behavioral health service organizations. Consequently, treatment attendance and retention remain
low. Instead, this population generally seeks mental health services in community organizations for lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. Unfortunately, these organizations are often
unprepared for this clinical challenge. The Behavioral Health-Works (BH-Works) suicide risk management
system may offer a potential solution to this problem. BH-Works is an evidence-based, comprehensive youth
suicide prevention program. It offers support for policy development, staff training, suicide and behavioral
health screening, technology-assisted safety planning, an electronic patient referral system, real-time data
analytics for program monitoring, and a learning collaborative structure to support sustainability. All functions
are supported on a web-based software platform that facilitates implementation, adoption and expansion. BH-
Works has been used in both clinical and non-clinical settings. In this project, we will adapt this program for
LGBTQ organizations. This project builds upon robust partnerships with two diverse LGBTQ organizations
(Mazzoni Center, in Philadelphia and Diversity Camp Inc., in rural Southwest, Virginia) and partnering
behavioral health sites. We will use an Effectiveness-Implementation Hybrid Type 2 design (Curran et al.,
2013) with a historical comparison group to pilot the BH-Works program within the two LGBTQ organizations.
Informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, we will pilot test a sequenced
implementation strategy. This strategy focuses on promoting engagement, building partnership, , and creating
sustainability In Year 1, we will collect treatment as usual data, work with our partners to adapt BH-Works
content, practices, and workflow. We will also train staff/providers in suicide risk management, family
engagement and affirmative care. In Year 2, we will begin pilot testing the SGM BH-Works screening and
referral systems. We will evaluate primary program outcomes (increased suicide identification and successful
referrals), secondary outcomes (program acceptability), and explore program mechanisms (training impact,
partnership development, software usability and caregiver involvement). The proposed research responds to
the growing national need to identify and refer vulnerable youth at risk for suicide. A future R01 will test
program effectiveness with a larger sample and different implementation strategies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10873232
- **Project number:** 5R34MH129785-03
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INST AND ST UNIV
- **Principal Investigator:** Jody Moser Russon
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $263,102
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-08-24 → 2025-03-21

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10873232

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10873232, The BH-Works Suicide Prevention Program for Sexual and Gender Minority Youth (5R34MH129785-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10873232. Licensed CC0.

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