Developing Suicide Prevention Research Priorities for the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development

ABSTRACT Background The VA Office of Research and Development (ORD) has re‐organized such that certain high priority health areas, such as suicide prevention, are managed using an Actively Managed Portfolio (AMP) model. One key capability of AMPs is to establish priorities for the portfolio; here, we describe the process and outcome of the priority setting process for the Suicide Prevention AMP (SP‐AMP). Method The SP‐AMP utilized a three‐phase process for determining suicide prevention research priorities. Team members initially identified existing priority statements from organizations invested in suicide prevention, and in a second phase, obtained feedback from internal VA and non‐VA partners as well as Veterans on the perceived importance of these domains. In the final phase, an executive steering committee (ESC) considered the qualitative and quantitative data for five potential areas for prioritization. Results The ESC selected “lethal means safety (LMS) approaches to suicide prevention” as the priority area for 2025. Conclusions SP‐AMP team solicited feedback from multiple relevant partners in suicide prevention. “LMS approaches to suicide prevention” was selected as the key immediate priority because advances could lead to immediate impact in suicide prevention. Other candidate domains will be highlighted by the SP‐AMP in upcoming funding cycles.