Self-harm Behaviors in Adolescents: Knowledge and Risk Assessment Skill among Novice Nursing Officers

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Abstract Background: Self-harm behavior is an important public health issue that needs to be addressed by general or specialized psychiatric health services at the earliest to bring down the negative impact on individuals, the community, and society at large. Aim: The present study was adopted to assess the effectiveness of a training program for nursing officers in handling self-harm behavior among adolescents. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the tertiary care hospital in Bengaluru. One group pretest and posttest research design was adopted. Forty consented newly recruited nursing officers who met the selection criteria were selected through a purposive sampling technique. The nurses’ knowledge and skill in assessing the risk of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents were measured using a knowledge questionnaire and risk assessment skill questionnaire, which were prepared by the researchers. The data were collected at the pre- and postintervention periods. The structured skill training program was administered in four consecutive days. Post-test was conducted 10 days after the training. Analyses were performed using the SPSS 26 version with t-test and Wilcoxon rank test to find the effectiveness of the structured skill training program. Results: Findings revealed that there were statistically significant changes in knowledge score and risk assessment skills on NSSI in adolescents among nursing officers, followed by the structured skill training program at P < 0.05 level. However, no significant association was found between sociodemographic variables with knowledge level and risk assessment skills of the nurses. Conclusion: The study findings show that a structured skill training program was effective in improving the nurses’ knowledge and skill in assessing the risk of NSSI behaviors in adolescents among nursing officers. The study has implications for nursing practice, education, research, and administration.