JOURNAL ARTICLE
MULTICENTER STUDY
RESEARCH SUPPORT, U.S. GOV'T, NON-P.H.S.
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Screening for suicidal ideation and attempts among emergency department medical patients: instrument and results from the Psychiatric Emergency Research Collaboration.

Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal 15 calls for organizations "to identify patients at risk for suicide." Overt suicidal behavior accounts for 0.6% of emergency department (ED) visits, but incidental suicidal ideation is found in 3%-11.6%. This is the first multicenter study of suicide screening in EDs. Of 2,243 patients in six diverse emergency settings, 1,068 (47.7%) were screened with a brief instrument. Depression was endorsed by 369 (34.5%); passive suicidal ideation by 79 (7.3%); and active suicidal ideation by 24 (2.3%). One hundred thirty-seven (12.8%) reported prior attempts, including 35 (3.3%) with current suicidal ideation. Almost half of those with current ideation had a prior attempt (43.8%) versus those without current ideation, 10.3%, χ2 (1) = 75.59, p < .001. Twenty cases (25%) were admitted to medical services, but only 10 (12.5%) received mental health assessment; none were admitted directly to a psychiatry service. The prevalence of suicidal ideation here is similar to previous studies but the frequency of prior attempts has not been reported. The 35 cases with current ideation and prior attempt are at risk. As they did not present psychiatrically, they would likely have gone undetected. Despite reporting these cases to clinical staff, few received risk assessment.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app