Citation

Ward-Ciesielski EF, Wilks CR. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/sltb.12602

PMID

31702077

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Suicide prediction, prevention, and intervention are urgent research areas. One barrier for research with high-risk populations is limited resources to manage risk in a research setting. We describe using the University of Washington Risk Assessment Protocol (UWRAP) to assess and manage suicide risk during phone-administered eligibility assessments in two clinical trials.

METHOD: Study 1 (N = 151) recruited suicidal adults who were not engaged in mental health treatment and Study 2 (N = 135) recruited suicidal adults who used alcohol to regulate emotions. Pre- and postassessment ratings of stress, urge to harm self, urge to use drugs/alcohol, and intent to harm self were compared and strategies to manage increased suicide risk following screening interviews were implemented, as indicated.

RESULTS: In both studies, average postassessment ratings were significantly lower than pre-assessment. A minority of participants reported higher ratings on one or more domains; however, following more thorough suicide risk assessment, risk was appropriately managed by providing low-level interventions (e.g., validation).

CONCLUSIONS: Suicide risk in research involving community participants can be managed by using appropriate risk protocols.

© 2019 The American Association of Suicidology.

Language: en