Best Practices in Suicide Screening and Assessment

Course overview

Despite concerted efforts among healthcare providers to identify individuals at risk of suicide, it remains a leading cause of death in the U.S. Among all age groups, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death and it is the second leading cause of death for individuals ages 10-34. There has been a steady increase in suicide rates. The rate in the U.S. increased by about 1% per year between 1999-2006. However, from 2006 to the present, the rate has increased by 2% per year (Hedegaard et al., 2020). To see any measurable reductions in the rate of suicide, it is critical to identify and intervene with those who are at increased risk. This course will provide you with information about the numerous risk and protective factors of suicide. You will learn effective screening approaches you can use to identify elevated risk. You will also learn how to follow a positive screening with an in-depth clinical assessment, including several different models you can use to guide your assessment. The goal of this course is to provide all healthcare professionals in the acute care setting with skills to identify individuals at increased risk of suicide.