Evaluating a Multidisciplinary Safety Plan Intervention

Mental health service multidisciplinary teams across both health care areas will be informed of the study and made aware of the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Team members will be asked to identify patients who are eligible to participate and for whom a safety plan is clinically indicated. Mental health service professionals will inform potential participants about the study and invite them to meet the researcher. If the patient agrees, the researcher will approach the patient, provide them with a participant information sheet, and answer any questions they may have. If the patient agrees, informed consent will be obtained by the researcher. In consenting to participate, participants will also agree to the researcher accessing their medical file notes. Information on the semistructured interviews and fidelity assessment will also be provided, and consent to future contact for this purpose will be sought. Clinicians across both community health organizations will be invited to participate in semistructured interviews to discuss their experiences of delivering the intervention.
Previously established clinician champions at each site will promote recruitment within their own teams and at weekly team meetings. Doctorate in clinical psychology students, in fulfillment of their clinical research experience and under the supervision of the principal investigator, will also support data collection across sites.
Baseline assessment measures will be administered to eligible participants who have consented to participate. Following the baseline assessment, participants will be randomized (1:1) to either the SafePlan or control condition.
An overview of the study procedures is provided in Figure 1.