Research at CDP: Advancing Suicide Prevention Efforts Among Service Members and Veterans Through Research
By: Linda Thompson, Jaime Rodden, Maegan M. Paxton Willing
This Suicide Prevention Month, CDP’s research team is taking a proactive approach to one of the most pressing challenges facing the military community. Suicide among service members and veterans remains a public health concern, with rates far exceeding those seen in the general population. Although many factors are associated with suicide risk, sleep problems have emerged as a critical, yet under-recognized factor. Prior work consistently demonstrates that poor sleep is not only common among military personnel, but also closely linked to worsening mood, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts.
In recognition of this, our team is collaborating with researchers at San Diego State University and the National Center for PTSD to utilize sleep health interventions to reduce suicide risk through a population health approach. This study recognizes the many ways in which we can support service members’ sleep and mental health by teaching health sleep habits as a proactive strategy, providing specific training to leaders regarding the importance of sleep for the military mission, and providing individual recommendations for problematic sleep using mobile health applications (Insomnia Coach). Our team hopes that by improving sleep health that we may also improve their mental health. Learn more about this study at https://deploymentpsych.org/blog/research-cdp-introducing-sleep-ed-mc-study.
Additionally, one of the greatest challenges with suicide prevention is that suicidal thoughts can change rapidly, often over a matter of hours. Traditional research methods typically rely on participants recalling their experiences over the past week or month, but this retrospective approach prevents identification of important warning signs and patterns. While we raise awareness, we also know that effective prevention relies on better understanding the problem. One way to address this is through the use of ecological momentary assessments, which assess suicidal thoughts and related symptoms several times throughout the day within an individual’s daily life. Inclusion of common wearables, such as Fitbits, allow us to observe the effects of sleep on suicide risk. By pairing physiological data with participants’ self-report, we gain a clearer picture of how disrupted sleep and changes in mood and suicidal thoughts are interwined.
This approach allows us to 1) detect early warning signs of suicidal crisis that might otherwise be missed, 2) identify specific times of heightened vulnerability, such as after poor sleep, and 3) pinpoint critical intervention windows when support could be more effective. Learn more about this study at https://deploymentpsych.org/blog/research-cdp-introducing-dreamss-study.
Ultimately, we hope these efforts will contribute to building targeted, scalable interventions for the broader military and veteran communities. If we can understand when suicide risk escalates and why, we can help develop tools that deliver support in the moments when service members and veterans need it the most.
Get Involved
To learn more about our current research efforts examining this important relationship, visit our website at deploymentpsych.org/research.
By: Linda Thompson, Jaime Rodden, Maegan M. Paxton Willing
This Suicide Prevention Month, CDP’s research team is taking a proactive approach to one of the most pressing challenges facing the military community. Suicide among service members and veterans remains a public health concern, with rates far exceeding those seen in the general population. Although many factors are associated with suicide risk, sleep problems have emerged as a critical, yet under-recognized factor. Prior work consistently demonstrates that poor sleep is not only common among military personnel, but also closely linked to worsening mood, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts.
In recognition of this, our team is collaborating with researchers at San Diego State University and the National Center for PTSD to utilize sleep health interventions to reduce suicide risk through a population health approach. This study recognizes the many ways in which we can support service members’ sleep and mental health by teaching health sleep habits as a proactive strategy, providing specific training to leaders regarding the importance of sleep for the military mission, and providing individual recommendations for problematic sleep using mobile health applications (Insomnia Coach). Our team hopes that by improving sleep health that we may also improve their mental health. Learn more about this study at https://deploymentpsych.org/blog/research-cdp-introducing-sleep-ed-mc-study.
Additionally, one of the greatest challenges with suicide prevention is that suicidal thoughts can change rapidly, often over a matter of hours. Traditional research methods typically rely on participants recalling their experiences over the past week or month, but this retrospective approach prevents identification of important warning signs and patterns. While we raise awareness, we also know that effective prevention relies on better understanding the problem. One way to address this is through the use of ecological momentary assessments, which assess suicidal thoughts and related symptoms several times throughout the day within an individual’s daily life. Inclusion of common wearables, such as Fitbits, allow us to observe the effects of sleep on suicide risk. By pairing physiological data with participants’ self-report, we gain a clearer picture of how disrupted sleep and changes in mood and suicidal thoughts are interwined.
This approach allows us to 1) detect early warning signs of suicidal crisis that might otherwise be missed, 2) identify specific times of heightened vulnerability, such as after poor sleep, and 3) pinpoint critical intervention windows when support could be more effective. Learn more about this study at https://deploymentpsych.org/blog/research-cdp-introducing-dreamss-study.
Ultimately, we hope these efforts will contribute to building targeted, scalable interventions for the broader military and veteran communities. If we can understand when suicide risk escalates and why, we can help develop tools that deliver support in the moments when service members and veterans need it the most.
Get Involved
To learn more about our current research efforts examining this important relationship, visit our website at deploymentpsych.org/research.