Universal Suicidality Screening in a Pediatric Emergency Department to Improve Mental Health Safety Risk

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth 12 to 18 years of age. Suicidal ideation can be predictive of suicide attempt, so screening for suicidal ideation by emergency nurses can help identify those at risk and facilitate timely intervention. This study evaluates the use of a universal suicide screening using the Patient Safety Screener 3 and the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale to identify youth ages 12 to 18 years experiencing suicide risk and assess factors predictive of suicide risk level.

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from patients presenting to the emergency department at an acute care hospital that uses a universal screening program for suicide risk. We determined the frequency of positive screens and performed multivariate analyses to identify predictive factors of scoring high on the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale.

Notably, 9.1% of patients were experiencing some level of suicide risk; 10% of those with positive scores had no mental health history and were not presenting for a mental health reason. After controlling for other independent variables, insurance status, mental health presentation, and known mental health history were significantly associated with Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale score.

Universal screening for suicide risk in pediatric emergency departments by nurses is critical for all patients older than 12 years, given that we identified patients at risk of suicide who presented for non-mental health reasons. These patients may not have been identified or referred to treatment if they were not screened for suicidality increasing risk of future suicide attempt.