Enhancing suicide risk assessment: a novel visual metaphor learning tool

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 608-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Alyami ◽  
Hussain Alyami ◽  
Frederick Sundram ◽  
Gary Cheung ◽  
Beverly A Haarhoff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Clinical Skill ◽  
Visual Metaphor ◽  
Suicide Risk Assessment ◽  
Load Theory ◽  
Suicide Risk Factors ◽  
Memory And Recall

Objective: Suicide risk assessment is variably taught and learnt by health professionals. The literature indicates that training programs of this fundamental competency need to be enhanced. To facilitate teaching and learning of this core clinical skill, we propose a novel visual metaphor in order to conceptualize suicide risk factors. The design of the proposed visual metaphor was informed by the Cognitive Load Theory to enhance deep learning of the various suicide risk factors. Conclusion: The visual metaphor depicting suicide risk factors can potentially improve memory and recall. It activates prior knowledge and is based on educational theory informed design principles.

Diagnostic scales for suicide risk assessment

2020 ◽  
pp. 67-79
Author(s):  
L. Gelda ◽  
L. Nesterovich
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Medical Research ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
General Medicine ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Suicide Risk Assessment ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Psychometric Instruments ◽  
High Incidence

The problem of adequate diagnostic tools use for suicide risk assessment т medical research and practice is of extreme importance because of the high incidence of suicide in the population of psychotic patients and the high vulnerability of the latter to the known risk factors. The article provides ап overview of the existing psychometric instruments (scales) used to assess the risk of suicide in psychiatry as well as in general medicine.

Suicide risk assessment in a large public mental health service: do suicide risk classifications identify those at risk?

2021 ◽  
pp. 103985622098403
Author(s):  
Marianne Wyder ◽  
Manaan Kar Ray ◽  
Samara Russell ◽  
Kieran Kinsella ◽  
David Crompton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Suicide Risk Assessment ◽  
Public Mental Health Service ◽  
Risk Assessment Tools

Introduction: Risk assessment tools are routinely used to identify patients at high risk. There is increasing evidence that these tools may not be sufficiently accurate to determine the risk of suicide of people, particularly those being treated in community mental health settings. Methods: An outcome analysis for case serials of people who died by suicide between January 2014 and December 2016 and had contact with a public mental health service within 31 days prior to their death. Results: Of the 68 people who had contact, 70.5% had a formal risk assessment. Seventy-five per cent were classified as low risk of suicide. None were identified as being at high risk. While individual risk factors were identified, these did not allow to differentiate between patients classified as low or medium. Discussion: Risk categorisation contributes little to patient safety. Given the dynamic nature of suicide risk, a risk assessment should focus on modifiable risk factors and safety planning rather than risk prediction. Conclusion: The prediction value of suicide risk assessment tools is limited. The risk classifications of high, medium or low could become the basis of denying necessary treatment to many and delivering unnecessary treatment to some and should not be used for care allocation.

scholarly journals Suicide risk: structured professional judgement

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Bouch ◽  
John James Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Suicide Risk Assessment ◽  
Case Histories ◽  
Risk Recognition ◽  
Suicide Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Assessment And Management ◽  
Professional Judgement

Patient risk factors for suicide are well known to psychiatrists, yet the availability of clinically useful, routine and systematic methods for risk recognition are limited. This article outlines the structured professional judgement approach to suicide risk assessment and management. This method combines psychiatric assessment and formulation with the evidence base for suicide risk factors. Structured professional judgement is contrasted with actuarial and clinical judgement approaches. A categorisation of risk factors is presented, with four groups described – static, stable, dynamic and future. Case histories illustrate long-term high risk contrasted with sudden and unpredictable onset of suicidality.

scholarly journals The Importance of Suicide Risk Formulation in Schizophrenia

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabella Berardelli ◽  
Elena Rogante ◽  
Salvatore Sarubbi ◽  
Denise Erbuto ◽  
David Lester ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Suicidal Risk ◽  
Suicide Risk Assessment ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
Specific Group ◽  
Choice Of Treatment ◽  
Psychological Risk

Suicide is a cause of early mortality in nearly 5% of patients with schizophrenia, and 25–50% of patients with schizophrenia attempt suicide in their lifetime. Evidence points to numerous individual, clinical, social, and psychological risk factors for suicide in patients with schizophrenia. Although recognizing suicidal risk factors in schizophrenia is extremely important in suicidal risk assessment, we have recently witnessed a change in suicide risk management that shifts the focus from suicide risk assessment to suicide risk formulation. Suicide risk formulation is dependent on the data gathered in the suicide risk assessment and assigns a level of suicide risk that is indispensable for the choice of treatment and the management of patients with a high suicidal risk. In this article, we extend the suicide risk formulation model to patients with schizophrenia. Suicide risk formulation results from four different areas that help clinicians collect as much information as possible for the management of suicidal risk. The four distinct judgments comprise risk status (the risk relating to the specific group to which the patient belongs), risk state (the risk for the person compared with his baseline or another reference point in the course of his life), available resources (on whom the person can count during a crisis) and foreseeable events (which can exacerbate the crisis). In schizophrenia, the suicide risk formulation model allows the clinician to evaluate in depth the clinical context of the patient, the patient's own history and patient-specific opportunities for better choosing and applying suicide prevention strategies.

What is commonly missed in the suicidal risk assessments in the emergency room?

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S562-S562
Author(s):  
N. Alavi ◽  
T. Reshetukha ◽  
E. Prost ◽  
A. Kristen ◽  
D. Groll
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Emergency Medicine ◽  
Emergency Room ◽  
Educational Intervention ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Chart Review ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Suicidal Risk ◽  
Suicide Risk Assessment

IntroductionSuicidal behaviour remains the most common reason for presentation to the emergency rooms. In spite of identifiable risk factors, suicide remains essentially unpredictable by current tools and assessments. Moreover, some factors may not be included consistently in the suicidal risk assessments in the emergency room by either emergency medicine physicians or psychiatrists.MethodStep 1 involved the administration of a survey on the importance of suicide predictors for assessment between psychiatry and emergency medicine specialties. In step 2 a chart review of psychiatric emergency room patients in Kingston, Canada was conducted to determine suicide predictor documentation rates. In step 3, based on the result of the first 2 steps a suicide risk assessment tool (Suicide RAP [Risk Assessment Prompt]) was developed and presented to both teams. A second patient chart review was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the educational intervention and suicide RAP in suicide risk assessment.ResultsSignificant differences were found in the rating of importance and the documentation rates of suicide predictors between the two specialties. Several predictors deemed important, have low documentation rates. Thirty of the suicide predictors showed increased rates of documentation after the educational intervention and the presentation of the suicide RAP.ConclusionThough a surfeit of information regarding patient risk factors for suicide is available, clinicians and mental health professionals face difficulties in integrating and applying this information to individuals. Based on the result of this study suicide RAP and educational intervention could be helpful in improving the suicidal risk assessment.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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