title: To Ask or Not to Ask? Opinions of Pediatric Medical Inpatients about Suicide Risk Screening in the Hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe opinions about suicide risk screening in a pediatric medical inpatient sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  As part of a larger instrument validation study, 200 pediatric medical inpatients (ages 10-21 years) were screened for suicide risk. Participants completed demographic self-report forms and were asked their opinions about suicide risk screening. Patient responses were recorded verbatim by trained research social workers. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of adolescents who participated had not been previously asked about suicide (N = 101; 62.3%) and were supportive of suicide risk screening (81.0%). Five salient themes emerged from the qualitative analysis of patient opinions: prevention, elevated risk, emotional benefits, provider responsibility, and lack of harm in asking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of youth screened for suicide risk on medical inpatient units were supportive of suicide risk screening. Opinion data have the potential to inform screening practices and assure clinicians that suicide risk screening will be acceptable to pediatric patients and their parents. Given the lack of screening in these patients' past experiences, the medical setting is a unique opportunity to capture youth at risk for suicide.
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA. Electronic address: abigail.ross@childrens.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Abigail M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Erina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Horowitz
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wharff
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000298:Adolescent, Hospitalized / Q000523:psychology*; D001900:Boston; D002648:Child; D002673:Child, Hospitalized / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult; D000092864:Suicide Prevention