Implementation of online suicide-specific training for VA providers

Area of Science:

• Mental Health Training
• E-learning in Healthcare
• Suicide Prevention

Background:

• A significant gap exists in suicide-specific intervention training for mental health professionals.
• E-learning offers a scalable solution to enhance provider skills within the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an e-learning alternative to the in-person Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) training.
• To assess the equivalence of e-learning CAMS (e-CAMS) compared to traditional in-person CAMS training.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter, randomized, three-group design was employed.
• The e-CAMS development involved iterative processes and pilot testing.
• Provider satisfaction and practice adoption were assessed via surveys and focus groups.

Main Results:

• 215 providers were randomized to e-learning, in-person, or control groups.
• Both e-learning and in-person groups reported high satisfaction with the training.
• Participants identified similar barriers to CAMS implementation across both training modalities.

Conclusions:

• This study represents the first evaluation of a suicide-specific e-learning training within the VA.
• e-CAMS demonstrated equivalence to in-person CAMS regarding provider satisfaction and practice adoption.
• e-CAMS holds potential for ongoing training of VA and military mental health providers.