NCT03586895

e-Connect: A Service System Intervention for Justice Youth at Risk for Suicide

Recruiting now NA Last updated 24 June 2025

What this trial tests

NA trial testing e-Connect in Suicide in 12,838 participants. Currently enrolling.

Timeline

1 August 2019

Primary endpoint
30 June 2025

1 December 2025

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Columbia University
Phase	NA
Status	Recruiting now
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	non randomized
Design	sequential
Masking	none
Primary purpose	prevention
Enrollment	12,838
Start date	1 August 2019
Primary completion	30 June 2025
Estimated completion	1 December 2025
Sites	1 location across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• e-Connect

Conditions studied

• Suicide — all drugs for Suicide →

Sponsor

Columbia University

Who can join

10 and older, any sex, with Suicide. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

The investigators propose to create e-Connect, a new service delivery model that will enable real time identification and targeted, county-specific referral and linkage of participants with suicidal behavior (SB) and related behavioral health (BH) problems. e-Connect will: (i) establish and formalize interagency referral decisions based on clinical need, jointly derived by JJ (juvenile justice) and BH agencies; (ii) train probation staff to increase BH/SB understanding; (iii) utilize an existing evidence-based (EB) BH/SB screen; and (iv) develop a mobile application to seamlessly integrate screening, classification of clinical need and development of a related referral plan. There are 4 project phases: Development, Baseline, Implementation, and Sustainment/Evaluation. After development, activities take place in 10 NY (New York) counties and all study counties will begin the intervention at the same time. The investigators will examine changes in outcomes (e.g., service use) relative to baseline in (i) identification of participants service need (SB and BH correlates) in juvenile probationers; (ii) cross-system (probation-BH agency) referral; and (iii) participants BH service use (access and engagement). Analyses will further consider contributions of multi-level factors (e.g., staff, organizational, family, and community) that influence implementation (feasibility, acceptability, sustainability) of e-Connect across various probation department processing categories (e.g. status offenders, diversion cases). The investigators will consider the role of mediating elements (e.g., probation practices) in explaining the association between e-Connect and identification, referral, and service use.

Publications & conference data

2 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. E-Connect: Linking probation youth at risk for suicide to behavioral health services.
   Elkington KS, Wasserman GA, Ryan ME, Sichel CE, et al · · 2023 · cited 12× · PMID 37261738 · DOI 10.1037/ccp0000824
2. Bridging juvenile justice and behavioral health systems: development of a clinical pathways approach to connect youth at risk for suicidal behavior to care.
   Wasserman GA, Elkington KS, Robson G, Taxman F. · · 2021 · cited 11× · PMID 34845569 · DOI 10.1186/s40352-021-00164-4