RAPID TRIAL – Remote Approaches to Psychosocial Intervention Delivery
The RAPID Trial is a randomised clinical trial looking at the effectiveness of remote psychosocial interventions for people who have a diagnosis of severe mental health, experience suicidal thoughts and are being seen by a Home-Based Treatment Team.
RAPID STUDY BACKGROUND: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
People who have suicidal thoughts are more likely to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital following contact with crisis services. Hospital admissions can have significant costs for an individual, including loss of relationships and employment and experiences of stigma and traumatic events. Psychiatric inpatients may experience further risks when being admitted to hospital as they tend to be more vulnerable to COVID-19 because of other physical health problems and effects of medications.
There is an urgent need for treatment in reducing suicidal thoughts, along with reducing the additional risks associated with hospital admissions.
Remote interventions (those which are delivered online or over the phone) may be a way to improve existing forms of support for people who struggle with suicidal thoughts, as well as making treatment more accessible for them.
RAPID TRIAL DESCRIPTION
The RAPID trial is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and brings together five sites across the United Kingdom: Manchester, Glasgow, Oxford, East London and North East London.
For more information about the site leads, see below:
- Manchester – Professor Tony Morrison
- Glasgow – Professor Andrew Gumley
- Oxford – Professor Daniel Freeman
- East London – Professor Steve Gillard
- North East London – Dr Lisa Wood
The main aims of the RAPID trial are to find out…
- How to reduce avoidable admissions to psychiatric hospital.
- How best to help people who experience suicidal thoughts.
To achieve this, we will compare three brief and remotely delivered psychosocial treatments to the standard care people usually receive.
The study has four ‘arms’, meaning that participants will be randomly allocated by a computer to receive either their usual treatment alone, or one of the three interventions in addition to their usual treatment. These interventions have been adapted from their original version for our own trial context.
The three interventions are:
- BrighterSide, a smartphone app developed by the Black Dog Institute that aims to help those with suicidal thinking to understand their thoughts and develop strategies to manage them. It is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), a talking therapy which explores the way you think, feel, and behave, and how these are linked.
- PREVAIL, a structured CBT-based peer support intervention, delivered via telephone or online by a person with their own experiences of mental health difficulties.
- SAFETEL, a safety planning approach delivered by assistant psychologists via telephone or online.
WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
We are looking for people who:
- Are over the age of 16.
- Have a diagnosis of a significant mental health difficulty such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, severe depression or a personality disorder.
- Are being seen by the Home-Based Treatment Team.
- Have experienced recent suicidal thoughts.
PATIENT AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT:
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) means working in collaboration and co-production with people with lived experience of mental health issues. We believe PPI is crucial to conducting high quality research, and it is central to the RAPID trial.
We have been developing our work on suicide prevention, peer support and digital interventions in collaboration with users and carers for many years. The management, development and implementation of the RAPID trial will be done in collaboration with service users, with the Service User Research Group (SURG) providing input at all phases of the research.
Additionally, there will be local Lived Experience Advisory Forums (LEAFs) in each site who will provide support and input to the RAPID trial. These are currently in the process of being set up, so please check back at a later date for information on how to contact your local team.
HOW TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE RAPID TRIAL:
For more information about the RAPID trial please contact:
RAPID@gmmh.nhs.uk
Melissa Pyle (Trial Manager): melissa.pyle@gmmh.nhs.uk
Tony Morrison (Chief Investigator): tony.morrison@gmmh.nhs.uk
Click HERE for the RAPID participant information sheet
Click HERE for the RAPID leaflet
