An interventional study of Brief contact intervention in Suicide and Self-harm, sponsored by National Taiwan University Hospital. Completed at 1 site in Taiwan. Open to participants aged 20 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-08-14.
Sponsored by National Taiwan University Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
Suicide is a major public health issue. Repeated self-harm may lead to potential future suicide deaths. In addition, it may lead to substantial loss in medical costs. Recently, smartphones have been widely used. Researchers started to apply mobile health to support individuals with self-harm experiences and to combine brief contact interventions which require lower cost to reduce repeated self-harm. However, the research evidence remains sparse. Furthermore, self-harm behaviors might be influenced by different cultural contexts. There is a need to conduct local studies in Taiwan. The aim of this study is to establish a co-design team which includes service users and service providers, to collaboratively develop a text- and web-based brief contact intervention (BCI) to reduce repeated self-harm, and to evaluate the feasibility of the intervention.
Study objectives:
Methods:
701 studies on the registry are indexed under Suicide; 183 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 24 is below the median of 104 across 560 interventional studies indexed under Suicide.
Browse Suicide studies →National Taiwan University Hospital is the lead sponsor of 2,563 studies on the registry; 569 are open to participants now.
Of its 11 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 2 (18%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
Participants will be asked to participate in a brief contact intervention and to evaluate its feasibility, including the feasibility of recruitment, intervention resources, the appropriateness of data collection, and the acceptance of the intervention.
Behavioral: Brief contact intervention
The brief contact intervention (BCI) will send out text messages to the participants. The text messages will include caring messages, reminders of appointments, and a link to a web page. The web page is anticipated to include safety planning, volitional helpsheet, and resources information. The text messages are anticipated to send out to the participants on a weekly base for 6 weeks in a row, and then change to monthly reminders. The monthly reminders are anticipated to include caring messages, reminders of appointments, and invitations to encourage the participants to click the previous web links again. The monthly reminders are anticipated to send out to the participants three times in a row. In the final reminder, the participants will be told that this intervention is going to end. In total, the participants will receive 9 texts within 5 months.
The acceptability of the intervention to participants
The investigators will conduct face-to-face qualitative interviews to understand the acceptability of the intervention amongst participants.
Time frame: within 3 months of study completion
The feasibility of intervention to participants
The investigators will conduct face-to-face qualitative interviews to understand the feasibility of intervention amongst participants.
Time frame: within 3 months of study completion
Participant recruitment
Recruitment: the proportion of participants who are eligible and invited actually consent to participate.
Time frame: through study completion, an average of 1 year
Participant retention rate
The proportion of participants who can be reached by in-person or phone contact at the 3 month follow-up.
Time frame: 3 month
Participant retention rate
The proportion of participants who can be reached by in-person or phone contact at the 6 month follow-up.
Time frame: 6 month
Number of repeated self-harm episodes (self-report)
Number of repeated self-harm episodes per person at 3 month after intervention based on self-report.
Time frame: 3 month
Number of repeated self-harm episodes (self-report)
Number of repeated self-harm episodes per person at 6 month after intervention based on self-report.
Time frame: 6 month
Number of repeated self-harm episodes (nationwide self-harm registry)
Number of repeat self-harm episodes per person at 3 month after intervention recorded in the nationwide self-harm registry
Time frame: 3 month
Number of repeated self-harm episodes (nationwide self-harm registry)
Number of repeat self-harm episodes per person at 6 month after intervention recorded in the nationwide self-harm registry
Time frame: 6 month
Self-Efficacy to Avoid Suicidal Action (SEASA)
Access participants' self-efficacy and stages of change in relation to suicide ideation and attempt at baseline/3/6 month. The total score ranges from 0 to 24, with a score of 24 indicating the highest self-efficacy in controlling suicidal thoughts.
Time frame: From enrollment to 3 months and 6 months
Help-seeking behavior questionnaire
Assess the help-seeking behaviours of participants at baseline/3/6 month. The total score ranges from 0 to 9, with a score of 9 indicating the highest level of help-seeking behaviors (knowing how to help oneself and where to access resources).
Time frame: From enrollment to 3 months and 6 months
Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS)
Briefly evaluate the psychological distresses of participants at baseline/3/6 month. The total score ranges from 0 to 25. Categorized as "mild" with score 6-9, "moderate" with score 10-14, and "severe" with score more than 15.
Time frame: From enrollment to 3 months and 6 months
The World Health Organisation- Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5)
Measure the current mental wellbeing of participants at baseline/3/6 month. The total score ranges from 0 to 25, with a score of 25 indicating the best quality of life.
Time frame: From enrollment to 3 months and 6 months
This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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National Taiwan University Hospital