Suicide rates are rising throughout the lifespan, and primary care providers are increasingly tasked with managing patients experiencing chronic or intermittently heightened suicidal risk. In response, the UNC Suicide Prevention Institute partnered with the UNC Eastowne Internal Medicine Clinic to adapt the Coping with Long-Term Active Suicide Program (CLASP) for use in primary care. This pilot project explores the feasibility and effectiveness of CLASP-PC as a rapid, suicide-focused intervention deliverable by integrated care teams. We will explore the findings, clinical implications for practice, real-world challenges, and recommendations for utilization.
Kimberly Menzel MSW, LCSW, ACSW, Clinical Instructor, University of North Carolina, Suicide Prevention Institute, Chapel Hill, NC
Danielle Lowe MD, PhD, Board certified in General Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Assistant Clinical Professor, Medical Director of Crisis Inpatient unit, Individual - Danielle Lowe,
Miller, Ivan, Brandon Gaudiano, and Lauren Weinstock, The Coping Long Term with Active Suicide Program (CLASP): A Multi-Modal Intervention for Suicide Prevention, Treatments That Work (New York, 2022; online edn, Oxford Academic, 1 July 2022), https://doi.org/10.1093/med-psych/9780190095260.001.0001.
Angerhofer Richards J, Cruz M, Stewart C, Lee AK, Ryan TC, Ahmedani BK, Simon GE. Effectiveness of Integrating Suicide Care in Primary Care: Secondary Analysis of a Stepped-Wedge, Cluster Randomized Implementation Trial. Ann Intern Med. 2024 Nov;177(11):1471-1481. doi: 10.7326/M24-0024. Epub 2024 Oct 1. PMID: 39348695.
Boggs, J. M., Yarborough, B. J. H., Clarke, G., Aguirre-Miyamoto, E. M., Barton, L. J., Beck, A., … Ahmedani, B. K. (2024). Development and Validation of Electronic Health Record Measures of Safety Planning Practices as Part of Zero Suicide Implementation. Archives of Suicide Research, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2024.2394676
Spottswood, M., Lim, C. T., Davydow, D., & Huang, H. (2022). Improving Suicide Prevention in Primary Care for Differing Levels of Behavioral Health Integration: A Review. Frontiers in medicine, 9, 892205. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2022.892205
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. (2023). Suicide and Self-Inflicted Injury Data. https://injuryfreenc.dph.ncdhhs.gov/DataSurveillance/VDRS/2020-NCVDRS-AnnualReport.pdf