Suicide-Related Knowledge and Attitudes among a Sample of Mental Health Professionals

Inadequate knowledge of the potential signs and risk factors of suicide negatively affects the ability of healthcare professionals to recognize patients at risk of suicide. The principal aim of the present study is to assess the attitudes and knowledge about suicide in a large sample of mental health professionals. We examined the relationship between Suicide Knowledge and Skills Questionnaire items and the experience of a patient dying by suicide. We also examined whether various healthcare professionals respond differently to the items of the Impact of a Patient’s Suicide on Professional and Personal Lives Scale. Results demonstrated that healthcare professionals who had experienced a patient suicide reported greater skills than professionals who had not experienced a patient suicide. However, 44% of professionals who had experienced a patient suicide felt that they did not have adequate training on this particular issue. Among those who had experienced a patient suicide, there was an increased tendency to hospitalize patients with suicide risk and an increased use of collegial consultation. Concerning personal emotions, healthcare professionals reported troubled relationships with family members and friends and the loss of self-esteem. In conclusion, better knowledge and attitudes about suicide are necessary for suicide-prevention strategies.

Improving Suicidal Ideation Screening and Suicide Prevention Strategies on Adult Nonbehavioral Health Units

BackgroundSuicide is a risk in hospitalized patients within and outside of behavioral health units. Williams et al. (2018). Incidence and method of suicide in hospitals in the United States. Williams et al. (2018), suicides occur annually in hospitals, 14%–26% of occurrences outside of a behavioral health unit.ObjectivesThe purpose of this project was to improve compliance with universal patient suicide ideation screening and targeted actions for patients screening positive admitted to nonbehavioral health units.MethodsElectronic medical record (EMR) changes to support screening and targeted patient safety measure documentation were implemented. Nursing education was provided to support these changes. Pre- and postassessments were used to measure knowledge gained from the education. A compliance report was generated from the EMR to measure compliance with universal screening and patient safety measures.ResultsIn a 4-month period, screening compliance improved by 20.6%, bedside safety companion use was 100%, suicide precautions, documentation 82.5%, and a behavioral health social work note documented 76% of the time.ConclusionsUniversal screening improvement is feasible and has the potential to improve patient safety. Implementation should be considered across health care organizations.Implications for NursingProviding nursing education and easier EMR workflows for nursing documentation of suicide screening and prevention strategies improves patient safety.

Responding to a Tragedy: Evaluation of a Postvention Protocol Among Adult Psychiatry Residents

Objective In a time of “zero suicide” initiatives and rising suicide rates, resident physicians are particularly susceptible to the psychological and professional ramifications of patient suicide. An adult psychiatry residency program developed and implemented a postvention protocol to address the impact of patient suicide among resident physicians. The current study is a formal evaluation of a training program’s postvention protocol from June 2018 to April 2020. Methods Process and outcome indicators were identified to assess protocol implementation and effectiveness. Process indicators included were postvention protocol adherence. Outcome indicators were perceived helpfulness of postvention protocol–related supports, occupational and general health measures, posttraumatic growth, and posttraumatic stress symptoms following resident participation in the postvention protocol. Results Study response rate was 97% (n = 57/59) and 81% completed the entire survey (n = 48/59). Twenty percent of residents (n = 10/48) experienced patient suicide during residency. Postvention protocol adherence was between 57 and 100%. Protocol-related supports, such as speaking with attendings who had previously experienced an adverse event, were more helpful than other supports (p < 0.01). Compared to residents who had not experienced patient suicide, mean work empowerment, burnout, mental health, and quality of life scores were not significantly different from residents who participated in the postvention protocol (p > 0.05). Posttraumatic growth was positively correlated with self-determination at work (p = 0.01). Conclusions The postvention protocol was helpful to residents and potentially effective at mitigating the psychological and professional consequences of patient suicide. Study findings may inform standardization of postvention protocols among psychiatry training programs.