Improving Screening and Follow Up for Suicidal Ideation and Behaviors Among Latinx Youth in Primary Care

The objective of this proposal is to develop and pilot a systems-level strategy in pediatric primary care to enhance identification and management of suicidal ideation and behavior in Latinx youth, particularly those in immigrant families with parents who have limited English proficiency (LEP). The investigators will focus on the use of trained community health workers (CHWs) to increase clinic capacity and quality of suicide risk screening and early intervention, with a focus on safety planning, parent psychoeducation and care coordination.

Specific aims are 1: To develop site-specific implementation protocols for the integration of CHWs into SIB screening and safety planning for Latinx youth and the youths families; 2: To pilot the implementation of the program in a six-month open trial in four pediatric primary care practices representing a range of usual practice settings; and 3: To engage a stakeholder network to explore barriers and facilitators, including costs and billing strategies, to implementation of this approach across a broad range of pediatric primary care settings.

Parents/guardians of youth who have been referred to and agree to participate in the intervention by the child's primary care provider will participate in a 2-month program consisting of 6-8 phone sessions with a community health worker focusing on safety planning, information/education, program solving and self-care. Research participants will be asked to complete a survey via phone at the beginning of the program and another at the end of the program. The participants may also be asked to participate in an additional interview about the study.