Research finding · September 2026
People with lived experience can help researchers define what meaningful suicide prevention looks like
Lethal means safety planning (i.e., temporarily reducing access to firearms and other highly lethal methods during periods of increased suicide risk) is one of the most important evidence-based strategies for preventing suicide. Emergency departments are increasingly screening young people for suicide risk, creating an opportunity to help families make their homes safer before returning home. Yet lethal means safety interventions have traditionally been designed around the perspectives of clinicians and caregivers, with teens themselves often left out of the conversation. The measures researchers use to determine whether these interventions are successful may similarly overlook outcomes that matter to young people and families, such as feeling safer, communicating more openly, knowing when and how to seek help, and feeling capable of carrying out a safety plan. Including people with lived experience in the development of these interventions may help ensure that suicide prevention is not only evidence-based, but also responsive to the people it is intended to serve.
With her AFSP-funded work, Dr. Maya Haasz and colleagues are putting this principle into practice as they develop TEEN LENS ED, a brief, web-based lethal means safety planning tool designed to actively engage teens identified with elevated suicide risk in emergency departments. Rather than determining the intervention's priorities solely as researchers, the team formed a 12-member community advisory board that included clinicians, advocates, suicide loss survivors, and people with other lived experience. Their input broadened what the researchers considered meaningful measures of success: not only safer firearm and medication storage, but whether teens feel safer and better able to access help, families communicate more openly, caregivers feel capable of keeping their child safe, and families can successfully use their safety plan. The group even challenged seemingly straightforward measures, noting that more emergency department visits could sometimes reflect improved communication and help-seeking rather than a worse outcome. The work highlights an important part of the research process: the people most directly affected by suicide prevention can help shape the questions researchers ask, the outcomes they measure, and ultimately the interventions they build.
Citation: Haasz, M., Cafferty, R., Birdsey, N., Eckert, K., Parker, J., Berardi-Bloomfield, A., Weinberger, E., Bajaj, L., & Kwan, B. M. (2026). Engaging Community to Identify Patient-Centered Lethal Means Safety Outcomes for Youth. Pediatrics, 157(6), e2025075084. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2025-075084
This finding comes from an AFSP-funded study — see the grant below ↓
