Suicide Risk Screening in an Emergency Department: Engaging Staff Nurses in Continued Testing of a Brief Instrument

A study was conducted to detect suicide risk in patients seeking treatment in an emergency department as well as to continue testing the reliability & validity of the 4-item Risk of Suicide Questionnaire developed by Horowitz & colleagues. Emergency department staff nurses administered the questionnaire to a convenience sample of 202 patients. Psychometric analysis demonstrated a lower-than-expected degree of reliability & an adequate level of criterion-related validity in this sample. Interrater reliability was established. Approximately 42% of all patients who participated screened positive for suicide risk using this instrument. Results support screening by nurses as part of the admission assessment. (26 refs.)