Suicide intervention skills in health professionals: a multidisciplinary comparison.
Training in the recognition and management of suicidal risk is of crucial importance for prevention. The aim of our study was to compare competence in assessing and managing suicidal patients in different groups of Italian professionals. Two hundred and thirty two professionals (38 psychiatrists, 50 general practitioners, 34 psychiatric nurses, 60 doctors and nurses working in accident and emergency services, and 50 medical students) completed the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory (SIRI-2) (Neimeyer & Bonelle, 1997) and a questionnaire on perceptions of risk and protective factors in suicidal patients. Exposure to suicidal patients was found to be widespread in all groups, but specific training in suicide assessment and intervention was conspicuously rare. Psychiatrists outscored all other groups and psychiatric nurses scored significantly higher than general practitioners in identifying appropriate responses to suicidal patients. Taken together, our findings suggest the necessity of further training in suicide intervention for Italian health professionals, and especially for emergency service personnel and general practitioners.
Palmieri
Gaspare
G
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy. gasparepal-mieri@yahoo.com
Forghieri
Matilde
M
Ferrari
Silvia
S
Pingani
Luca
L
Coppola
Paolina
P
Colombini
Nicolo
N
Rigatelli
Marco
M
Neimeyer
Robert A
RA
D000328:Adult; D003419:Crisis Intervention; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011314:Preventive Health Services; D011361:Professional Competence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000092864:Suicide Prevention