Ecological momentary assessment of mental health in adults at suicide risk: An observational study protocol

Abstract

Aims: To describe the research protocol for an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) designed to examine patterns of suicidal ideation and relevant psychosocial stress indicators in adults at risk for suicide.

Design: This observational and longitudinal study will collect data for 28 consecutive days.

Methods: A total of 150 adults at risk for suicide will be recruited from a single suicide prevention centre and an outpatient clinic in Korea. Self-report questionnaires will be administrated during weeks 0, 1, 3 and 5. Participants will receive text messages three times a day for 4 weeks prompting them to access an online survey link for daily mood survey including depression, anxiety, stress and suicidal ideation. In addition, for the first 2 weeks, they will wear an actigraphy device designed to collect actigraphic data in terms of sleep patterns and physical activity. Data analyses such as descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, chi-squared statistics and time-series and correlation analyses will be performed using IBM SPSS 26.0 and SAS version 9.3. The study received funding from National Research Foundation of Korea in February 2020. Institutional Review Board approval for our study was obtained in April 2021.

Discussions: This study will yield fundamental information about daily patterns of suicide ideation and psychosocial stress indicators to develop preventive interventions for adults at risk for suicide.

Impact: Our study will contribute to the development of EMAs and interventions for adults at risk for suicide aimed at providing timely and individualized mental health services in a community setting.

Trial registration: The trial is registered with the Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS). CRIS Registration Number: KCT0006165.