title: Inter-rater reliability of the German version of the Nurses' Global Assessment of Suicide Risk scale.
abstract: In comparison to the general population, the suicide rates of psychiatric inpatient populations in Germany and Switzerland are very high. An important preventive contribution to the lowering of the suicide rates in mental health care is to ensure that the risk of suicide of psychiatric inpatients is assessed as accurately as possible. While risk-assessment instruments can serve an important function in determining such risk, very few have been translated to German. Therefore, in the present study, we reported on the German version of Nurses' Global Assessment of Suicide Risk (NGASR) scale. After translating the original instrument into German and pretesting the German version, we tested the inter-rater reliability of the instrument. Twelve video case studies were evaluated by 13 raters with the NGASR scale in a 'laboratory' trial. In each case, the observer's agreement was calculated for the single items, the overall scale, the risk levels, and the sum scores. The statistical data analysis was conducted with kappa and AC1 statistics for dichotomous (items, scale) scales. A high-to-very high observers' agreement (AC1: 0.62-1.00, kappa: 0.00-1.00) was determined for 16 items of the German version of the NGASR scale. We conclude that the German version of the NGASR scale is a reliable instrument for evaluating risk factors for suicide. A reliable application in the clinical practise appears to be enhanced by training in the use of the instrument and the right implementation instructions.
authors.affiliation: Nursing Social Education Research Unit, University Hospital of Psychiatry, Bern, Switzerland. bernd.kozel@gef.be.ch.|International Graduate Academy (InGrA), 'Participation as Goal of Nursing and Therapy', Institute of Health and Nursing Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany. bernd.kozel@gef.be.ch.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kozel
authors.affiliation: Division of Health, University of Applied Science, Bern, Switzerland.|International Graduate Academy (InGrA), 'Participation as Goal of Nursing and Therapy', Institute of Health and Nursing Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grieser
authors.affiliation: Nursing Social Education Research Unit, University Hospital of Psychiatry, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Abderhalden
authors.affiliation: Center for Nursing Research, College of Nursing and Health, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, USA.|University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.|University of Coimbra, Portugal.|University of Malta, Malta.|CEO Cutcliffe Consulting.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Cutcliffe
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D015588:Observer Variation; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D000092864:Suicide Prevention
keywords: inter-rater reliability; mental health; risk factor; risk-assessment instruments; suicide