Professional perspectives on roles and structural gaps in interprofessional collaboration for suicide prevention: a...

Suicidal behavior results from a complex interplay of psychiatric, psychosocial, socioeconomic, and structural factors and requires coordinated approaches across care sectors. Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is widely regarded as essential for bridging gaps in care, yet profession-level descriptions of how IPC is organized and where structural bottlenecks occur in suicide prevention remain limited. This study examined how IPC is structured and experienced from the perspective of mental health professionals involved in selected suicide prevention programs in Switzerland.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and psychiatric nurses. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, pseudonymized, and analyzed using thematic analysis. A complementary perception-based network visualization depicted reported collaboration patterns.

Participants described a layered collaboration structure with a clinical core comprising psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses, who assumed central responsibility for crisis assessment, therapeutic interventions, and follow-up care. General practitioners and social workers acted as bridging actors at transition points, while collaboration with actors such as teachers, police officers, and probation officers was described as more uncertain and episodic. IPC was inconsistently organized: some services relied on designated key workers, whereas others managed collaboration ad hoc. Task redistribution, shared training, and information-sharing facilitated collaboration, while limited resources, fragmented documentation systems, and the absence of clearly defined coordination roles remained major barriers.

From a professional perspective, IPC in Swiss suicide prevention is anchored in specialist mental health services but depends on wider cross-sectoral collaboration. Strengthening IPC requires formal coordination roles, interoperable documentation, and durable structures that embed collaboration across care sectors.