Using the Delphi Method for Determining Key Performance Elements for Delivery of Optimal Suicide-Specific...

Area of Science:

• Emergency medicine
• Psychiatry
• Public health

Background:

• Emergency departments (EDs) are critical points for suicide prevention.
• Existing guidelines lack tools to assess the fidelity of concurrent suicide interventions.
• There is a need for a universal, treatment-agnostic tool to measure suicide care quality in EDs.

Approach:

• Conducted a comprehensive review of suicide care standards in EDs.
• Utilized the Delphi Consensus method with subject matter experts (SMEs) to refine Key Performance Elements (KPEs).
• Iteratively developed and validated KPEs across six suicide-specific intervention domains.

Key Points:

• Achieved consensus on 70 out of 74 KPEs across five of six intervention domains.
• Identified 74 KPEs, including essential and optional elements, for suicide care in EDs.
• Consensus was not fully reached for the domain of engaging with lived experience.

Conclusions:

• Developed a universal, treatment-agnostic Suicide Care Fidelity Checklist.
• The checklist can verify the delivery of suicide-specific interventions in ED settings.
• Expert-derived KPEs provide a valuable tool for assessing suicide care fidelity in real-world practice.