Caring Contacts

Welcome to the Caring Contacts Toolkit. The goal of this toolkit is to help you think through how you want to send Caring Contacts via ISACC in your agency/clinic/program. We will provide you with background information to help you understand Caring Contacts, why and how it works, and suggestions for how best to implement the intervention with your organization's clients. In addition, we address topics that you and your agency will want to consider while implementing Caring Contacts. These are your choices and there is no right answer, but we’ve included some key points to consider as well as pros and cons of different decisions to think through and discuss as you plan your Caring Contacts program.

Guided Decision Making

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Are Caring Contacts Right for Your Organization?

Caring Contacts are brief, periodic messages sent over 1-2 years that express unconditional care and concern. They have reduced suicide, suicide attempts, and suicide ideation, are cost-effective, are recommended by multiple clinical practice guidelines, and have the potential to scale up to a single individual intervening with hundreds of suicidal individuals. However, despite this strong support, few health systems are using Caring Contacts and many who have made maladaptive adaptations that weaken core Caring Contacts principles. These maladaptive modifications occur largely because Caring Contacts activities fall outside of established workflows.

More About Caring Contacts

Caring Contacts: Exploring Options

Caring Contacts can be implemented via a variety of methods, from small-scale, no-cost options to dedicated web-apps that are designed specifically for this intervention and with the needs of organizations like yours in mind.

What are the Options?

A Practical Guide to Caring Contacts

The Caring Contacts intervention can be easily implemented by organizations of all sizes and skill levels. This guide offers advice and recommendations for all phases of design, planning, and implementation, along with guidance on how to manage day-to-day implementation challenges.

Getting Started

About Us

The Center for Suicide Prevention and Recovery (CSPAR) teamed up with the Clinical Informatics Research Group (CIRG) and experts in Human Centered Design and clinical decision support tools to develop this Caring Contact toolkit and the ISACC web-app.

About Us