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ViewAttendees 3

Symposia

Suicide and Self-Injury

Session: Suicide Prevention as a Platform for Social Connection: Innovations in the Stanley & Brown Safety Planning Intervention

2 - (SYM 136) Developing a Peer Specialist Delivered Tool to Enhance Suicide Safety Planning for Veterans with Serious Mental Illness: The Role of Stakeholders

Sunday, November 19, 2023
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PST
Location: Kachess (405), Level 4

Background:  The recovery model emphasizes improving well-being, meaning making, and seeking fulfillment in life. This model benefits those with serious mental illness (SMI). A salient component of the recovery model is the role of peers. In the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veteran Peer Specialists are trained to use their lived experience to support Veterans through the recovery process. This support has shown to promote belongingness, engagement, and hope – all of which are salient to suicide prevention. Despite these benefits, there is limited data of the role of Peer Specialists in suicide prevention. Following a user-centered design approach and utilizing stakeholder input, we aimed to a) understand the role of Veteran Peer Specialists in suicide prevention and b) develop a Peer Specialist delivered suicide prevention tool.

Method:  We recruited consumer (n=8) and scientific (n=6) stakeholders nationwide. Consumer stakeholders were Veteran Peer Specialists who worked in the VHA or community and provided peer support. They attended two focus groups and up to three individual meetings. Scientific stakeholders were experts in suicide prevention, SMI, and intervention design. They attended up to three individual meetings. Pragmatic analysis themes included: the need and want of suicide prevention training for Peer Specialists, determining the scope of practice for Peer Specialists in suicide prevention, integration of recovery themes in suicide prevention, and potential difficulties with using safety plans during a crisis.


Discussion:  The input from these stakeholders has led to the development of a Veteran Peer Specialist suicide prevention training manual and a peer-delivered intervention tool tailored to the unique needs of Veterans with SMI called “SUicide Prevention by Peers Offering Recovery Tactics” (SUPPORT). The goal of SUPPORT is to enhance the use of the Veteran’s safety plan and begin to create a life that is worth living. SUPPORT integrates elements of hope instillation, recovery planning, value-based living, and cognitive learning strategies to increase the salience and recall of intervention material. Future directions include a) piloting the training manual and b) conducting an open pilot trial to train Peer Specialists to fidelity while collecting qualitative and quantitative data from Veteran and Peer Specialist stakeholders. This stakeholder approach of intervention development champions the crucial element of including voices of those with lived experience of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.