Online Adolescent Suicide Risk Assessment

Abstract

OPEN ACCESSMarch 15, 2013Online Adolescent Suicide Risk Assessment Virginia Sue Biddle, MSN, PhD Virginia Sue Biddle, MSN, PhD Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.9352 SectionsAbout ToolsDownload Citations ShareFacebookTwitterEmail AbstractAbstractThis web-based suicide risk assessment training module is geared towards primary care providers and other clinicians who want to identify youth at risk for suicide in their practices. The program focuses on the assessment of background and subjective risk factors using the well-known Home, Education, Activities, Drug use and abuse, Sexual behavior, and Suicidality (HEADSS) interview instrument for psychosocial risk assessment. It is designed for providers who need basic knowledge concerning suicide risk assessment. Review questions that users must answer are displayed periodically throughout the module. These questions reinforce the content and help users assess their learning.A pilot study was conducted to test the effectiveness of the program in increasing the knowledge of 26 graduate nurse practitioner and nurse midwife students in assessing adolescents for suicide risk. A pre-and posttest design and statistical analysis using a paired t-test (to test the difference between mean scores for the pretest and posttest) were employed to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Pre- and posttest questions from videotaped vignettes were grouped into the following subscales: setting the stage, psychosocial assessment, depression assessment, triage, recognition, and intervention. Using an alpha level of .05, the paired t-tests for each subscale, as well as all subscales combined, were statistically significant. The results indicated that student knowledge regarding assessing adolescents for suicide risk increased at a statistically significant level after participating in the training.The online suicide risk assessment training has been completed by 201 pediatric nurse practitioners or other advanced practice nurses via the Web site of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. They rated the program 4.5 or higher on a 5-point Likert scale for meeting each educational objective and their own expectations, as well as for appropriateness of content, and their ability to integrate concepts learned into clinical practice. All scores improved from the pretest to the posttest. Of the 29 participants who were willing to be surveyed at a later date, all indicated that they made changes to their clinical practice after the training. Eighty-five percent reported that they made at least four changes and 15% reported that they made at least one change.The significance of the program is that it provides students and clinicians with a way to learn basic suicide risk assessment in an online format, enables them to apply knowledge gained to clinical scenarios via videotaped vignettes, and allows them to assess their knowledge before and after the training. Educational Objectives By the end of this module, learners will be able to: Explain the role of clinicians in the prevention of suicide.State the prevalence of youth suicide.Explain why youth suicide occurs.Set the stage for an adolescent interview.Assess adolescents for suicide risk by inquiring about background risk factors (using the Home, Education, Activities, Drug use and abuse, Sexual behavior, and Suicidality interview) and subjective risk factors.Refer adolescents at risk for suicide for the appropriate level of care.Identify possible treatments and measures of success.Assess family needs, strengths, resource, and supports. Sign up for the latest publications from MedEdPORTAL Add your email below FILES INCLUDEDReferencesRelatedDetails FILES INCLUDED Included in this publication: Instructor's Guide.doc PandPTestUpdate.doc scenario1.jpg scenario2.jpg ASRA Content Folder Video Players Folder To view all publication components, extract (i.e., unzip) them from the downloaded .zip file. Download editor’s noteThis publication may contain technology or a display format that is no longer in use. Copyright & Permissions© 2013 Biddle. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.KeywordsYouthSuicideRiskHEADSS Disclosures None to report. Funding/Support None to report. Loading ...