The Nature and Structure of the Military Suicide Research Consortium’s Common Data Elements

Abstract

Objective

To describe the development, application, and benefits of a set of common data elements (CDE) utilized by the Military Suicide Research Consortium (MSRC). Approach: Civilian and military suicide research experts selected items from measures representing a broad range of suicide-specific constructs, and created new items for certain constructs. The resulting CDE were included in the protocols of all studies funded by MSRC. Principal investigators upload their CDE to a secure repository available for use by other researchers. Results: The CDE have been found to be valid, reliable, and of use for multiple applications beyond the design of the parent studies which generated them. Conclusions: The MSRC CDE expand the information available to inform suicide prevention and intervention among military personnel. They also improve the quality of the suicide data available in support of the DoD’s goal of addressing the huge public health problem of suicide among service members.

Keywords:

• Military
• suicide
• research
• pooled data
• military
• common data elements
• public health
• veterans

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the following Principal Investigators (PIs) who provided the data presented in this manuscript: Drs. Beeta Homaifar & Melissa Amick, PIs of the study, “Thinking Under Stress and the Risk of Suicide;” Dr. Michael Anestis, PI of the study, “Predicting Suicide Risk in a Military Population;” Dr. Lisa Brenner, PI of the study, “Window to Hope;” Dr. Julie Cerel, PI of the study, “Suicide Bereavement in Veterans and Military Families;” Dr. Jesse Cougle, PI of the study, “Using Anger-Reduction Treatment to Recue Suicide Risk;” Drs. Courtney Bagge & Ken Conner, PIs of the study, “Warning Signs for Suicide Attempts;” Dr. Sean M. Barnes, PI of the study, “Behaviorally Assessing Suicide Risk;” Dr. Rebecca A. Bernert, PI of the study, “A Behavioral Sleep Intervention for the Prevention of Suicidal Behaviors in Military Veterans;” Dr. Nigel E. Bush, PI of the studies, “Usability and Utility of a Virtual Hope Box (VHB) for Reducing Suicidal Ideation” and “Effectiveness of VHB Smartphone App in Enhancing Veteran’s Coping with Suicidal Ideation;” Dr. Bridget Matarazzo, PI of the study, “Improving the Inpatient-to-Outpatient Transition;” Drs. James McNulty & Michael A. Olson, PIs of the study, “Improving Marriages to Decrease Suicide Risk;” Dr. Norman B. Schmidt, PI of the studies, “Retraining Reactions to Smells” and “Preventing Suicide by Decreasing Anxiety and Improving Mood;” Dr. Katherine A. Comtois, PI of the study, “Military Continuity Project (MCP): A Suicide Prevention Study;” Dr. Collin Davidson, PI of the study, “Longitudinal Assessment of Physical Activity and Suicide Risk;” Drs. Peter M. Gutierrez and Thomas E. Joiner, PIs of the study, “Toward a Gold Standard for Suicide Risk Assessment for Military Personnel;” Dr. Lori Johnson, PI of the study, “Suicide Risk Assessments within Suicide-Specific Group Therapy Treatment for Veterans;” Dr. Matthew K. Nock, PI of the study, “New Approaches to the Measurement and Modification of Suicide-Related Cognition;” Dr. Jessica Ribeiro, PI of the study, “Short-term Prediction of Suicidal Behavior on a Large Scale;” Dr. Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, PI of the study, “Using Brain Imaging to Study Suicide Risk;” and Dr. Gina M. Signoracci, PI of the study, “Assessment of Cognitive Functioning as it Relates to Risk for Suicide in Veterans with HIV/AIDS.”

Disclosure statement

All authors have agreed to the content and submission of this manuscript. There are no conflicts of interest to disclose. This material has not been submitted or published elsewhere.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by the Military Suicide Research Consortium (MSRC), an effort supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs under Award Nos. (W81XWH-10-2-0181 and W81XWH-10-2-0178) and by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the MSRC, the Department of Defense, or the Department of Veterans Affairs.