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399 The development of a digital game to prevent suicide in youth who misuse substances

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2023

Claudia-Santi F. Fernandes
Affiliation:
Yale University School of Medicine
Francesca Giannattasio
Affiliation:
Yale University School of Medicine
Trucy Truong-Phan
Affiliation:
Yale University School of Medicine
Hilary Blumberg
Affiliation:
Yale University School of Medicine
Lynn E. Fiellin
Affiliation:
Yale University School of Medicine
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Abstract

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OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Suicide is the second leading cause of death in teens. Substance misuse, including opioids, is a risk factor for suicidal thoughts and behaviors among teens. School-based approaches are promising, yet they lack evidence on their effectiveness. To fill this gap, we created supportED, a digital game to prevent suicide in youth who misuse substances. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We conducted focus groups and interviews to inform the development of the digital game and discuss approaches to enhance user experiences, acceptability, and feasibility of the intervention. A semi-structured focus group/interview guide was developed, pilot tested, and used in focus groups/interviews. The guides aligned with constructs from a safety planning intervention, a well-recognized, evidence-based suicide prevention intervention, to identify potential warning signs of emotional distress, coping strategies, and resources for seeking help to prevent suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Focus groups/interviews were led by a facilitator, who is also a certified school counselor and licensed professional counselor, and a co-facilitator who took field notes and provided debrief summaries. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: A total of 35 participants, including 10 high-school-aged teens [aged 16-19], 10 college-aged youth [aged 18-22], 10 school-based providers, and five interviews with adults who had experience with opioids in their youth informed the development stage. Of the focus group participants, 25.7% identify as female (n=23), 71.4% identify as male (n=6), and 2.9% do not identify as male or female (n=1); 60% identify as White (n=18), 20% identify as multi-racial (n=6), 10% identify as Black (n=3), 3.3% identify as Asian (n=1), and 6.7% identify as race unknown (n=2); and, 37.1% (n=13) identify as Hispanic/Latinx. Salient themes that emerged focused on opioids, substance misuse, mental health, bullying, grief, family, identity, and stigma to create six distinct narratives in the digital game. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Findings informed the development of a digital game to prevent suicide among adolescents who misuse substances. The digital game is currently being evaluated in a pilot RCT to assess the preliminary efficacy of the intervention, user experience, usability, and feasibility of delivering the intervention and protocols among 60 youth.

Type
Regulatory Science
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. The Association for Clinical and Translational Science