College of nursing receives $20,000 grant for suicide prevention program

Each year, Sigma Theta Tau International, a global honor society for nurses, awards the Sigma Theta Tau International/American Nurses Credentialing Center Evidence-Based Practice Implementation Grant worth $20,000. This year, ETSU faculty members Christine Mullins, Teresa Carnevale and Vallire Hooper received the prestigious award.

Mullins, Carnevale, and Hooper applied for the grant so they could implement an evidence-based suicide prevention program at four Health Wagon clinics in rural Virginia. One goal of the prevention program is to improve communication between patients and healthcare workers, as most doctor visits do not allow time for the nuances involved in a discussion about depression and suicide.

“We’re trying to save lives,” said Carnevale.

Mullins, who lives in Virginia and works at one of the Health Wagons, saw the need for the program. Mullins and her colleagues began the process of applying for the grant in May and worked all summer on the project. Well aware of the limitations of COVID-19, Mullins, Carnevale and Hooper tried to anticipate and prevent potential barriers to their study that may be caused by the pandemic.

Mullins and her colleagues chose to implement the five-step SAFE-T pocket card to help healthcare workers recognize and identify patients at risk of suicide. Additionally, a major part of the grant is the partnership between ETSU’s College of Nursing and Frontier Health, wherein Mullins and her team can notify Frontier Health if they have an at-risk patient. The patient can then be transferred from a Health Wagon to Frontier Health for treatment.

In terms of research, Mullins and her colleagues are implementing a pre-test, educational training modules and a post-test. Healthcare providers will also fill out weekly surveys about the program.

“I would just like to say that our grant team is excellent,” said Mullins.

The Health Wagons are run by ETSU alumni from the college of nursing. Mullins and her team plan to work with Frontier Health and the Health Wagons to develop mental health partnerships. Although the Health Wagons are located in Virginia, patients in the surrounding areas can go to the Virginia Health Wagons and they will be seen.