Rapid screening for suicide risk: An algorithmic approach.

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Health
• Clinical Psychology
• Primary Care Medicine

Background:

• Primary care settings are crucial for integrated medical and behavioral health services in the U.S.
• Accurate and efficient behavioral health screening, including suicide risk assessment, is needed in primary care.
• The Multidimensional Behavioral Health Screen (MBHS) is a brief tool adapted for primary care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the predictive accuracy of the updated MBHS 2.0 suicide risk algorithm.
• To compare MBHS 2.0 suicide risk classification against clinical suicide risk interviews.
• To assess the utility of MBHS 2.0 for primary care providers.

Main Methods:

• Data from 299 college students who completed MBHS 2.0 and a clinical suicide risk interview were analyzed.
• Suicide risk was categorized by MBHS 2.0 (Low, Mild, At least Moderate) and clinical interview (Low, Moderate, Severe, Extreme).
• Chi-square and classification analyses were used to compare predicted versus actual risk.

Main Results:

• A significant association was found between MBHS 2.0 predicted risk and clinically assessed suicide risk.
• Classification analyses indicate MBHS 2.0 allows providers to confidently assess most patients' suicide risk levels.
• The MBHS 2.0 algorithm demonstrates strong predictive accuracy for suicide risk.

Conclusions:

• The MBHS 2.0 is a potentially accurate and efficient tool for primary care providers to classify suicide risk.
• Findings support the integration of MBHS 2.0 for routine suicide risk surveillance in primary care.
• Further research is recommended to validate the MBHS 2.0 algorithm in diverse primary care populations.