Study: Patient Opinions about Screening for Suicide Risk in the Adult Medical
Inpatient Unit
Purpose of Study: This analysis aimed to describe adult patients' opinions of
suicide risk screening in medical settings. A 15-item feedback survey was
given verbally by the Q’em data collector to all patients who participated in
the QIP, showing that patient opinions can be utilized to inform the
thoughtful implementation of universal suicide risk screening in the medical
setting. Therefore, settings that treat medically ill patients represent an
important venue for suicide detection and prevention.
Research Design: Analysis includes a subsample of a larger quality
improvement project designed to screen medically hospitalized patients for
suicide risk.
Discussion of the Sample: A convenience sample of 56 adult medical/surgical
patients, age 18 years or older, who were admitted to one of three select
inpatient units at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Research
Center (CRC) during a single week in January 2012, were included in this sub-
analysis. The NIH CRC is a 200-bed clinical research hospital. Patients were
excluded if they could not communicate fluently in English, were cognitively
impaired, or were experiencing acute worsening medical status.
Discussion of data collection Methods: Responses to open-ended questions
were transcribed verbatim and uploaded into NVivo 9.2 qualitative software
for coding and content analysis. A group composed of a masters-level clinical
social worker, a research assistant, and an advanced doctoral clinical
psychology student used grounded theory and open coding, a technique of
naming and categorizing phenomena, to analyze the responses. Two team
members used the open coding procedure to code the comments and
identify themes from the answers. A third coder reviewed the responses and
discussed with the team to further refine themes. Eleven themes were
established. A constant comparison method was used to refine the codes
into larger themes. Interrater agreement was 90.5%. All discrepancies were
resolved by discussion and consensus.
Summary of the Finding: Qualitative findings suggest that adult hospitalized
medical patients support suicide risk screening. The importance of directly
asking the connection between physical and mental health and the critical
role of follow-up interventions was emphasized. Patient opinions lend further
support for implementing universal suicide risk screening and prevention
strategies in medical hospital settings. Forty-three (81%) patients supported
