CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT00118443Updated Jun 28, 2013

Evaluation of a School-Based Training Program for Suicide Prevention

A Phase 2/3 interventional study of Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) training in Suicide, sponsored by University of Rochester. Completed at 1 site in United States. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2013-06-28.

Sponsored by University of Rochester · Phase 2/3, Interventional, and Prevention

Phase
Phase 2/3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
50,000
Allocation
Randomized
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study will determine whether a training program designed to help school staff members identify adolescents at risk for suicide will increase the number of students who are referred to mental health services.

Read the detailed description

The rate of suicide among adolescents has significantly increased in recent years. Psychiatric disorders are often associated with increased suicide risk; therefore, the ability to identify adolescents with signs of depression and other psychiatric conditions is clear. This study will determine the effectiveness of a suicide prevention training program called Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) in increasing the number of potentially suicidal adolescents who are referred to mental health services. The training is designed to help school staff recognize signs that a student may be suicidal, provide tips on how to question students about any suicidal thoughts they may have, and provide techniques to persuade students to seek suicide prevention help.

School staff will be randomly assigned to either receive QPR training for 2 years starting immediately or be placed on a waiting list for later training. The rates of referral to the school district's prevention/intervention centers will be used to assess the effectiveness of QPR training. In addition, the impact of QPR training on school staff members' knowledge and attitudes about intervening with at-risk students will be assessed through surveys at four time points over the 2-year study duration with a randomly selected portion of staff in the 32 participating schools. Surveys completed by randomly selected 8th and 10th grade students will also be used to determine whether the intervention is effective in reducing suicidal thoughts or attempts.

Study hypothesis: More students in schools that have Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR)-trained staff will be referred for a mental health evaluation than in schools without QPR-trained staff.

02

Conditions studied

  • Suicide

Keywords

  • Suicide Prevention
  • Depression
  • Adolescent
  • Students
  • School Teachers
03

In context

Suicide

701 studies on the registry are indexed under Suicide; 183 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 50,000 is above the median of 104 across 560 interventional studies indexed under Suicide.

Browse Suicide studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Rochester is the lead sponsor of 715 studies on the registry; 116 are open to participants now.

Of its 56 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 44 (79%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
Child (0–17), Adult (18–64), Older adult (65+)
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria for School Staff Members:

  • Currently working as a staff member in Cobb County school district

Inclusion Criteria for Students:

  • Parent or guardian willing to provide informed consent
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2 / Phase 3
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
50,000 participants (estimated)

Interventions

  • BehavioralQuestion, Persuade, Refer (QPR) training
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Rates of referrals for students identified as suicidal risks

  2. school staff knowledge and attitudes

  3. outcomes of mental health evaluations for accurate detection of suicidal risk

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Cobb County School District
    Marietta, Georgia 30061, United States
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 28, 2013, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00118443
Lead sponsor
University of Rochester
Collaborators
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
First posted
Jul 11, 2005
Start date
Mar 2004
Primary completion
Dec 2006
Completion
Dec 2006
Last update
Jun 28, 2013

Study contacts

Peter Wyman, PhD
principal investigator · University of Rochester
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jun 2013. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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