Federal Grant Award Summary

Butler Hospital, a division of Care New England Health System located in Providence, Rhode Island, received a $165,987 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242) effective May 1, 2026, with a completion date of April 30, 2028. The award funds the SAFER (Structuring Appropriate and Feasible Evaluations of Risk) project, which develops and validates evidence-based suicide risk management protocols for use in research settings involving college-aged populations. This two-year research initiative directly addresses the critical public health challenge of suicide among college students, who experience elevated rates of new-onset suicidal ideation compared to the general population.

The project deliverables include the creation of empirically-validated suicide risk assessment and intervention protocols developed through three coordinated research aims. These aims encompass stakeholder engagement with approximately 32 participants (16 college students with lived experience of suicidality and 16 suicidologists), evaluation of protocol acceptability and effectiveness among high-risk college students (n=30) and clinical experts (n=10), and testing of different research personnel outreach strategies on reporting of suicidal ideation and behaviors. The resulting evidence-based protocols are intended to resolve inconsistencies in current suicide risk management practices, thereby improving both participant safety and data validity in suicide prevention research while balancing ethical considerations with scientific rigor.