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Most health care workers who have taken a suicide prevention training program developed by the University of Washington say they are better able to recognize and respond to patients who are at risk of suicide.
Most people who die by suicide had contact with the health care system in the year before their death – but only about a third received mental health services. This means that primary care doctors and emergency room doctors, nurses and other professionals can be more often to evaluate a person in crisis.
After Washington in 2012 became the first state to require suicide prevention training for health care professionals, the University of Washington developed a program, All Patients, to help providers identify people at risk of suicide.
A new study, published on line 23, on the 23rd of the newspaper PMARSCIAL SARKI, found great training in this difficult task is possible. The first group of health professionals to try All Safe Health also reported improved understanding of suicide and how to respond to people at risk.
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“The results show that it is possible to provide good training to health professionals about suicide, which is an important but not sufficient step for suicide prevention,” said Jenn Stuber, a professor of social work. at the UW and lead author of the study. “Also, it is important to review systems and policies to ensure that there is greater support for health professionals to implement the clinical skills they are taught in training.”
About 46,000 people died by suicide in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It is one of the leading causes of death for young people.
Stuber, who founded the UW’s Suicide Prevention Initiative, helped push Washington state legislation to train health care providers after her husband died by suicide. The law named him. A few years after passage, the law was amended to include all licensed health care providers — not just behavioral health professionals — in the training requirements. Behavioral health professionals must undergo training every six years, while other health professionals must take the course only once.
In addition to Washington, 17 other states encourage or require such training for health care providers.
All Patients Safe was developed in partnership with a variety of professionals and health care organizations, including the UW AIMS Center, and is one of a few dozen suicide prevention trainings accredited by the Washington State Department of Health .
Conducted online in three- and six-hour formats, All Patient Safe is structured in modules and uses case-based materials and videos that create provider-patient interactions. The goal is to educate and encourage providers to identify risk behaviors and communicate with their patients, among other things, to limit the use of risky methods.
Between November 2018 and December 2020, more than 1,500 service providers completed the six-hour course and initial training survey. More than half completed the post-training survey and were included in the new study. Participants were asked about their understanding and confidence in dealing with a number of issues with the patient, including drug and firearm storage, and suicidal thoughts.
Results from this study showed improved levels of confidence and understanding in all areas. For example, the number of respondents who believed they could spot the warning signs of suicide increased by 60 percent, while confidence in asking questions about drugs and guns also rose.
Researchers say the results show at least short-term educational gains, and the potential to extend the training to a larger number of providers. They say more research is warranted on the long-term effectiveness of the training in specific health care settings.
Co-authors are Sarah Porter of the UW School of Social Work; Anne Massey of the UW School of Public Health; and Betsy Payn and Anna Ratzliff of the UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
For more information, contact Stuber at jstuber@uw.edu.
Tag(s): anna ratzliff • Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences • Next • Jennifer Stuber • School of Medicine • School of Public Health • School of Social Work
