A Qualitative Study of Ecological Momentary Assessment of Suicide Risk for Persons Living With HIV in Philadelphia, PA, USA: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Ethical Implications.

Only ten participants were interviewed, and all were adults living with HIV with recent suicidal thoughts, so the findings may not apply to other groups. The study did not test whether the assessments changed suicide risk or behavior; it asked participants to describe their experience after the assessments. The assessments came with crisis information and possible clinician contact, so participants' reported benefits may have come from those supports rather than the prompts alone. Some participants disclosed suicidal thoughts only after the study or underreported them because of fear, so the interviews may not capture the full range of experiences. One participant linked fear of disclosure to the interviewer's race and prior involuntary hospitalization, which may affect trust and reporting.

The authors report no real or perceived vested interests that could be a conflict of interest.

Do not conclude that frequent suicide-risk assessments are harmless or will always produce honest reports. No participant reported increased personal risk, but some feared hospitalization or stigma and underreported or skipped questions.