Suicide Risk Management Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial of Cardiac Patients Reporting Hopelessness.
Susan L Dunn, Holli A DeVon, Eileen G Collins and 4 others
PMID 32956255WHAT IT FOUND
For cardiac patients reporting hopelessness, a suicide-risk protocol guided research staff and nurses through screening, triage, and follow-up.
It found eight hospital low-risk screens and home low and moderate risk screens, but did not test whether the intervention works.
Key findings
01The protocol uses the C–SSRS and its triage guidelines to sort participants into high, moderate, or low suicide risk and guide actions by setting.
02In hospital screening, 51 of 98 patients had moderate to severe hopelessness; of those, 43 scored safe and eight scored low suicide risk.
03During home data-collection visits of 35 participants, there were three low-risk and one moderate-risk suicide screens; after the moderate-risk case, the protocol added counseling history assessment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a protocol paper for an ongoing trial, so it does not report whether the motivational intervention reduced hopelessness or suicide risk. The safety data are descriptive and small: 98 hospitalized patients were screened, 35 enrolled, and home visits produced three low-risk and one moderate-risk screens. Staff comfort reports come from recruiters, data collectors, and nurses after training, not from an independent comparison group. The protocol was revised after one moderate-risk case, so the added counseling-history step has not been tested in a larger sample. It was developed for adults with ischemic heart disease reporting hopelessness in hospital and home research visits; other populations and settings would need modification.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest. The paper is tagged as having NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that the motivational intervention or suicide screening reduces suicide risk. It reports a safety protocol for an ongoing trial and descriptive screening counts, not trial outcomes.