Largest Suicide Prevention Organization Accepting Applications for $1.5M Focus Grant Award for Suicide Prevention Research

Letter of Intent Deadline Set for August 1, 2015

News provided by

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Jun 05, 2015, 10:11 ET

NEW YORK, June 5, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The nation's largest suicide prevention organization, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has set the goal to reduce our nation's suicide rate 20 percent by 2025. To help reach this goal, AFSP is launching a new Focus Grant request for application for the coming year – "Reaching 20x2025". This Focus Grant, of up to $500,000 a year, for up to three years, will be awarded to a researcher, or group of researchers, to study potential pathways and interventions that can significantly reduce the national suicide rate if ultimately implemented on a large scale.

The first AFSP Focus Grant, which began in 2013, targets short-term risk. The first recipient of the 2014 award was Dr. Matthew Nock, at Harvard University. Dr. Nock's study combines clinical evaluation measures with computer-based implicit association tasks in order to reliably predict a patient's short-term suicide risk. The resulting assessment tool can be implemented in emergency departments, and it would signal clinicians to take steps to address suicide risk in the near term. Dr. Nock has been called the "suicide detective" by The New York Times and remains a national suicide prevention expert.

Focus Grant RFA full summary can be found at: afsp.org/Focus2015.

Application Requirements:

The study rationale must address feasibility to measurably reduce U.S. suicide rates with widespread implementation.
Goal of the research is to find universal, selective and indicated interventions that target one or more specific risk factors for suicide and that, if implemented on a large scale, would reduce national suicide rates.
Consistent with AFSP grant policies, the study must include measurement of suicide or non-lethal suicide attempts at baseline and follow-up assessments. However, in a study of this size, a change in suicidal behavior may not be robust enough to detect. In addition, therefore, investigators may use a conceptual logic model linking a measurable proxy behavior (such as adherence to the intervention) to suicide in order to demonstrate that the intervention could have an effect on suicide if widely disseminated.
A conceptual model and quantitative analysis demonstrating the potential impact on U.S. suicide rates if the study were implemented broadly are requested. Important considerations include population based attributable risk, acceptability, feasibility, and ease of dissemination.
The study must be based in the United States.
Evidence of feasibility to conduct the study must be provided.

How to Apply:

All applicants must submit a Letter of Intent that includes:

Descriptive title of proposal.
Name, title, institutional affiliation, and address and telephone number of the principal investigator(s).
Names, titles, and institutional affiliations of other key personnel.
List of participating institutions.

A brief 2-page project description that includes:

Objectives
Sample
Outcome measures
Procedures (including approach to data analysis)

Letter of Intent/Notice of Application should be emailed by August 1, 2015 to Jill M. Harkavy-Friedman, PhD, vice president of research at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at [email protected].

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention leads the fight against suicide. We fund research, offer educational programs, advocate for public policy, and support those affected by suicide. Led by CEO Robert Gebbia and headquartered in New York, AFSP has 75 local chapters with programs and events nationwide. Review our Annual Report to learn more about AFSP's life-saving work, and join the national conversation on suicide prevention by following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.