Suicide Prevention and Intervention in Hospital Settings: Outcomes and Implications of a Departmental Needs Assessment

Suicide is a significant public health problem. Recent reports rank suicide as the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S. general population (Center for Disease Control, 2007) and the 3rd leading cause of death among youth/young adults (National Center for Health Statistics, 2007).

Social workers are the leading providers of mental health treatment services in the United States (Olfson, Marcus, Druss and Pincus, 2002). Exploratory research has revealed reports by both field supervisors and MSW students of minimal levels of SPI training (Ruth, Muroff, McLaughlin and Gianino, 2008). These findings are consistent with others from an earlier national survey in which the majority of social workers characterized their level of SPI training as inadequate (Feldman & Freedenthal, 2006).

In response to these findings, the Social Work Department at a northeastern hospital for children administered a department-wide (n=110, response rate 74%) survey on suicide prevention and intervention (SPI) practices as part of a 2008 Quality Improvement Initiative. Survey questions were based upon knowledge and skill-based core competencies in suicide assessment and risk management identified by the American Association of Suicidology (2006). Identified priority training areas included cultural competence in assessment tools/models, SPI risk factor interaction, crisis intervention and management of ongoing care. The needs assessment process, findings, and implications will be discussed. Implications for the role of public health student practica in the design and implementation of hospital-based public health interventions will be discussed.