Improving Sleep as a Strategy to Reduce Suicide Risk Among at-Risk Veterans: A Real World Clinical Trial

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Anticipated Benefit to VA Healthcare The proposed study will establish the feasibility and effectiveness of treating insomnia in the primary care environment as a suicide prevention strategy. By treating insomnia, a common problem that is both a risk factor for suicide and highly prevalent in common conditions associated with suicide such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we expect to reduce the severity of suicidal ideation (SI) among Veterans experiencing SI, insomnia and a co-occurring condition. Project Background Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S., is a major concern of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and occurs at elevated rates among Veterans. Veterans with common chronic conditions such as PTSD and depression are at increased risk for suicide. Although evidence-based treatments exist for these conditions, a significant number of Veterans do not engage in or complete such treatments leaving them at higher risk for suicide. This application builds upon VA HSR&D funded pilot work that demonstrated the feasibility of delivering a brief version of cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) within primary care to Veterans experiencing SI. The pilot data suggest that our brief, primary-care based insomnia treatment was delivered with high fidelity, acceptable to Veterans and associated with significant reductions in insomnia and depression symptoms, and reduced SI intensity. The next stage of this program of research is to establish the feasibility of delivering our brief, primary care based, insomnia intervention utilizing primary care-mental health integration (PC-MHI) clinicians (as opposed to research staff) and to establish the effectiveness of the intervention on reducing the severity of factors that contribute to suicide risk and to improve other clinical markers in a definitive trial. Project Objectives The ultimate goal of the broader program of research is to reduce suicide among Veterans by intervening upon sleep disturbance as a modifiable risk factor for suicide. In this application we focus on insomnia, which is the most common sleep disorder among Veterans and is robustly associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The primary objective of this proposed clinical trial is to test whether (and how) using brief behavioral insomnia treatment can not only improve sleep, but reduce other risk factors for suicide including the severity of depression, PTSD and suicidal ideation among Veterans at risk for suicide. Secondary objectives are to: (1) gather initial data on barriers and facilitators to implementation to aid future implementation efforts in VA primary care and (2) determine if the intervention improves attitudes towards psychotherapy treatments that address the co-morbid conditions. Project Methods In order to achieve these objectives we will conduct a real-world, randomized clinical trial among 240 Veterans experiencing either co-occurring depression or PTSD recruited from primary clinics at three VA sites. These Veterans, who will also endorse SI and insomnia, will be randomized to receive either a brief course of CBT-I or a sleep hygiene intervention of similar length. Assessments of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, insomnia, depression, and PTSD will be conducted at baseline, post-treatment, and every 6 weeks thereafter until 6 months post-treatment. Mixed effects modeling and structured equation modeling will be applied to determine how improvements in sleep and other symptoms (e.g. depression, PTSD) contribute to reductions in SI severity. In addition, we will collect, code and analyze participant and provider feedback to assess barriers and facilitators of implementation in real-world clinical practice.