Improving suicide risk screening in the emergency department

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Mental Health Screening

Background:

• Suicide is a growing public health issue.
• Suicide risk screening is inconsistent in acute care settings.
• The Columbia-Suicide Severity Risk Scale (C-SSRS) is a validated tool for suicide risk assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance suicide risk screening practices in a Midwestern US hospital system.
• To implement and evaluate the effectiveness of the C-SSRS tool.
• To improve patient safety through standardized suicide risk assessment.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement project was conducted in a large hospital system.
• Nurses in emergency departments completed a 30-minute interactive learning module on the C-SSRS.
• The project focused on the background, relevance, and application of the C-SSRS.

Main Results:

• 97% of emergency department nurses completed the C-SSRS training module.
• There was a significant increase in the percentage of patients screened for suicide risk.
• The C-SSRS facilitated classification of suicide risk severity for targeted interventions.

Conclusions:

• The quality improvement project successfully increased suicide risk screening rates.
• Training nurses on the C-SSRS is effective in improving screening practices.
• Standardized use of the C-SSRS can enhance patient care for those at risk of suicide.