Suicide Safety Planning: Clinician Training, Comfort, and Safety Plan Utilization.

Emma H Moscardini,Julie B Kaplow,Raymond P Tucker,Ryan M Hill,Cody G Dodd,Calvin Do

doi:10.3390/ijerph17186444

Abstract

Extant literature has demonstrated that suicide safety planning is an efficacious intervention for reducing patient risk for suicide-related behaviors. However, little is known about factors that may impact the effectiveness of the intervention, such as provider training and comfort, use of specific safety plan elements, circumstances under which providers choose to use safety planning, and personal factors which influence a provider’s decision to use safety planning. Participants were (N = 119) safety plan providers who responded to an anonymous web-based survey. Results indicated that most providers had received training in safety planning and were comfortable with the intervention. Providers reported that skills such as identifying warning signs and means safety strategies were routinely used. Providers who reported exposure to suicide were more likely to complete safety plans with patients regardless of risk factors. In addition, almost 70% of providers indicated a need for further training. These data provide important considerations for safety plan implementation and training.

Highlights

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States (U.S.), accounting for approximately45,000 deaths per year [1]
We suggest that training in and implementation of safety planning interventions take into account factors which may affect the fidelity of the intervention, such as personal experiences with suicide, experience with the intervention, and environmental obstacles
Data supports the use of suicide safety planning to increase the safety of at-risk patients [11]

Summary

Introduction

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States (U.S.), accounting for approximately45,000 deaths per year [1]. Suicide attempts are even more frequent, with an estimated 1.3 million suicide attempts among U.S adults each year [2] at an estimated cost of $93.5 billion due to factors such as injury treatment costs and loss of productivity [3]. To help combat this public health crisis, the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention advocates for increased use of empirically supported interventions to reduce suicide risk in a variety of settings [4]. This paper presents the findings of a survey of providers who use safety planning so as to evaluate provider training and comfort with the intervention, factors associated with decisions to use safety planning, and safety planning quality

Results

Discussion

Conclusion