ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT05920252Updated Mar 4, 2026

A Digitally Assisted Risk Reduction Platform for Youth at High Risk for Suicide

An interventional study of Vira and Treatment as Usual (TAU) in Suicide, Mental Health Disorder and Anhedonia, sponsored by Ksana Health. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 13 Years to 18 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-03-04.

Primary conditionSuicide(the registry's first term)UnverifiedIs this wrong?Suicide is a broad heading, used only when no more specific condition is named. No better condition is named, so the registry's term is kept.

Sponsored by Ksana Health · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Aug 2024; still recruiting 2 years 2 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
78
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
13 Years to 18 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Despite efforts to prevent suicide, US rates are climbing, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth. Digital tools, especially personal smartphones, are promising avenues to address these issues and can be used to provide a unique understanding of risk factors, including psychological distress, anhedonia and behavioral withdrawal, and sleep disturbance among high-risk individuals. This project aims to enhance the effectiveness of the delivery of preventative health care to youth at risk for suicide by developing a comprehensive digital platform that allows practitioners to integrate mobile sensing data and HIPAA-compliant client communication tools into their management of these young people.

Read the detailed description

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth. Digital tools, especially personal smartphones, are promising avenues to address these issues and can be used to provide a unique understanding of risk factors, including psychological distress, anhedonia and behavioral withdrawal, and sleep disturbance among high-risk individuals. This project aims to enhance the effectiveness of the delivery of preventative health care to youth at risk for suicide by developing a comprehensive digital platform that allows practitioners to integrate mobile sensing data and HIPAA-compliant client communication tools into their management of these young people. Specifically, it will conduct a pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT) based at the intensive outpatient services (Intensive Adolescent and Family DBT Program (Columbia Doctors)) to test the impact of using the Vira platform for patients versus treatment as usual control (TAU; i.e., not using Vira). This project will include adolescent patients (n = 200) aged 13-18-years-old randomized to: (a) Vira group (n = 100) and (b) treatment as usual control group (n = 100). Participants will include current patients receiving treatment in the intensive outpatient program, and all treatment decisions will be overseen by practitioners within the program. The overarching goal is to test whether using the Vira platform in the context of an intensive outpatient setting improves clinical outcomes.

02

Conditions studied

  • Suicide
  • Mental Health Disorder
  • Anhedonia

Keywords

  • Depression
  • Depressive Disorder
  • Mood Disorders
  • Mental Disorders
  • Suicidal Behaviors
  • Suicidal Thoughts
  • Suicidal Ideation
03

In context

Suicide Unverified

607 studies on the registry are indexed under Suicide; 162 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 78 is below the median of 104 across 490 interventional studies indexed under Suicide.

Browse Suicide studies →

Lead sponsor

Ksana Health is the lead sponsor of 4 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.

Compared within Suicide, the registry's first condition term, which may not be this study's main condition. Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily. How we classify →

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
13 Years to 18 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Written informed assent from adolescents ages 13-17 years old and permission from legal guardians, or consent from adolescents age 18 years old.
  • Receiving treatment at the Intensive Adolescent and Family DBT Pgogram
  • 13-18 years old
  • Owns a personal smartphone (Android or iPhone 7+)
  • Fluent in English

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Adolescents who require a higher level of care (i.e., are not admitted to the Intensive Outpatient DBT program)
  • Adolescents who are receiving treatment at the Intensive Adolescent and Family DBT program and have already been assigned a clinician
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
78 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Digitally enhanced treatment supported by the Vira platform

    Intensive outpatient DBT supported by the Vira platform. The Vira app is installed on the patient's smartphone. The app passively collects data from phone sensors (i.e., measures of physical activity, sleep patterns, mobility, and language patterns reflecting mood states and cognition) that are indicative of risk-relevant behavioral patterns and psychological states. It also prompts users to answer a daily check in question. Mobile sensing data are processed to provide an automated assessment of the user's functioning. Patients will be asked to use Vira for the duration of their intensive outpatient treatment. Patients' use of the Vira app is supported by practitioners, who can schedule just-in-time reminders (i.e., "nudges") to arrive in the user's phone at scheduled times to support their behavior change plan and DBT treatment. The Vira Platform therefore integrates mobile sensing, self-report assessment, and just-in-time nudges and notifications into the practitioner's workflow.

    Behavioral: Vira

  • Active comparator
    Treatment as Usual (TAU)

    Intensive outpatient DBT + EARS app (passive data monitoring software)

    Behavioral: Treatment as Usual (TAU)

Interventions

  • BehavioralVira

    Intensive outpatient DBT supported by the Vira platform. The Vira app is installed on the patient's smartphone. The app passively collects data from phone sensors (i.e., measures of physical activity, sleep patterns, mobility, and language patterns reflecting mood states and cognition) that are indicative of risk-relevant behavioral patterns and psychological states. It also prompts users to answer a daily check in question. Mobile sensing data are processed to provide an automated assessment of the user's functioning. Patients will be asked to use Vira for the duration of their intensive outpatient treatment. Patients' use of the Vira app is supported by practitioners, who can schedule just-in-time reminders (i.e., "nudges") to arrive in the user's phone at scheduled times to support their behavior change plan and DBT treatment. The Vira Platform therefore integrates mobile sensing, self-report assessment, and just-in-time nudges and notifications into the practitioner's workflow.

  • BehavioralTreatment as Usual (TAU)

    Intensive outpatient DBT + EARS app (passive data monitoring software)

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)

    The C-SSRS is an assessment of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in clinical and research settings. The C-SSRS consists of 16 questions about suicidal thoughts and behaviors (the first 10 questions comprise the ideation subscale and the last 6 comprise the behavior subscale). This 5-item subscale ranges from a minimum of 0 (corresponding to no suicidal ideation) to a maximum of 5 (representing active suicidal ideation with plan and intent).

    Time frame: 6 months

  2. Scale for Suicidal Ideation (SSI)

    The SSI consists of 19 items that evaluate three dimensions of suicide ideation: active suicidal desire, specific plans for suicide, and passive suicidal desire. Each item is rated on a 3-point scale from 0 to 2. The higher the total score, the greater the severity of suicide ideation.

    Time frame: 6 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Screen for Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED)

    The scared is a 5-item self-report questionnaire used to screen for childhood anxiety disorders including general anxiety disorder, separate anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and social phobia. Items are rated on a 3 point Likert scale from 0 to 2 and summed to yield a total score. Total scores range from 0 to 10. Higher scores indicate greater anxiety.

    Time frame: 3 and 6 months

  2. Risky Behavior Questionnaire for Adolescents (RBQ-A)

    The RBQ-A is a 20-item self-report measure that assesses frequency of engagement of risky behaviors (e.g., sexual precociousness, aggression, rule-breaking, and substance use). Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Scores range from 0 to 80. Higher scores reflect greater engagement in risky behaviors.

    Time frame: 3 and 6 months

  3. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

    The PSQI is a 19-item self-report measure of sleep quality and disturbances. The 19 items are grouped into 7 component scores, each weighted equally on a 0 to 3 scale and summed to yield a global PSQI score. Total scores range from 0 to 21. Higher scores indicate worse sleep quality.

    Time frame: 3 and 6 months

  4. Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ)

    The MFQ is a 13-item self-report questionnaire used to screen for depressive in children and young people. Items are rated on a 3-point Likert scale (not true = 0; sometimes true = 1; not true = 2). Scores are calculated by summing the point values on each response. Total MFQ scores range from 0 to 26, with higher scores suggesting greater severity in depressive symptoms.

    Time frame: 3 and 6 months

  5. Anticipatory & Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS)

    The ACIPS is a 17-item self-report measure of hedonic capacity of social interaction and interpersonal engagement. Items are rated on a 6-point from "very false" to "very true." Total scores are calculated by summing the ratings (after reversing one negatively worded item) and range from 17 to 102. Lower scores indicate greater social anhedonia.

    Time frame: 3 and 6 months

Other outcomes

  1. System Usability Scale (SUS)

    The System Usability Scale is a 10-item measure that evaluates the usability of mobile software. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 0 to 4. Total SUS scores range from 0 to 100. Higher scores reflect greater usability.

    Time frame: 3 and 6 months

  2. Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ)

    The INQ is a 15-item self-report assessment of interpersonal factors thought to be associated with suicidal desire and behaviors. Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale. Scores range from 15 to 105. Higher scores reflect greater levels of these interpersonal factors.

    Time frame: 3 and 6 months

  3. National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) Quick Screen V1.0

    The NIDA Quick Screen is used to screen patients for drug use in general medical settings. The tool consists of 4 items regarding frequency of past year use of alcohol, tobacco, non-medical prescription drug, and illegal drug use.

    Time frame: 3 and 6 months

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — De-identified data will be uploaded to the NIMH NDA.

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 4, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05920252
Lead sponsor
Ksana Health
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jun 27, 2023
Start date
Aug 14, 2024
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 31, 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Mar 4, 2026

Study contacts

Randy Auerbach, PhD, ABPP
Contact
rpa2009@cumc.columbia.edu
646-774-5745
Nick Allen, PhD
principal investigator · Ksana Health

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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