Suicide risk management in research: a qualitative assessment

Current standards of practice for addressing suicide risk in research settings mirror clinical procedures; however, this knowledge has not been systematically translated into research settings, especially those that rely on remote data collection.

We used purposive sampling to identify experts who work to reduce suicide from clinical, research, administrative, and community perspectives in the United States; a majority of our participants either worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs or with Veterans through other organizations. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 31 people. We analysed the interview data using thematic analysis.

We found that existing guidance about risk management in suicide research is not sufficient for individuals working in the field. Instead, our respondents described the unique set of interviewing skills needed for managing a research interview alongside suicide risk, and the importance of developing psychological safety, both with the research participant and within the research team.

Our findings extend previous suggestions for staff training and using universal risk assessment, and advance two additional suggestions: (1) provide guidance not only about how to conduct risk assessment, but also how to utilize prevention strategies, and (2) increase skill-building around managing conversations (e.g. qualitative interviewing) by improving communication skills in research settings.