Identification, Assessment, and Management of Suicide Risk in Emergency Departments: Significant Updates in Research and Practice

AbstractPurpose of ReviewIt is estimated that emergency departments (EDs) could prevent 5% of all suicide attempts and 8% of suicide deaths, making EDs a critical setting in which to identify individuals at risk for suicide and to intervene to mitigate the risk. The goal of this review was to detail recent advances in the identification, assessment, and management of suicide risk in emergency medicine and to provide best practice recommendations for these processes.Recent FindingsAdvances in caring for patients who present to EDs with suicide risk include improved workflows and tools for ED providers to identify, assess, and manage suicide risk, increased patient-centeredness and quality of ED care for patients at risk of suicide, and shifting beliefs of ED providers regarding the feasibility of integrating the assessment and management of suicide risk into emergency care.SummaryED suicide prevention efforts have notably changed in recent years. Strategies for universal screening, secondary screening tools, and evidence-based workflows for the management of suicide risk all show potential for feasibly addressing suicide risk in EDs. Effective implementation of evidence-based practices is necessary as integrating these new practices requires significant change in the clinical practice and culture of many EDs.
Source: Current Emergency and Hospital Medicine Reports - Category: Emergency Medicine Source Type: research