SafeTALK suicide training: An evaluation of attitudes and actions among medical students
Keywords:
gatekeeper, primary care, medical students, suicide
Abstract
Background: SafeTALK is a half-day gatekeeper training program on recognizing persons at risk for suicide and intervening appropriately. Primary care clinicians have been increasingly targeted for suicide intervention training; however, evidence surrounding the effectiveness of safeTALK is lacking, particularly among medical learners. The aim of this study was to assess whether suicide literacy and intervention skills were enhanced by safeTALK training among medical learners.
Methods: Undergraduate medical students from an Ontario university were invited to complete an online survey regardless if they had taken safeTALK training as part of their curriculum. Suicide literacy was measured with the Literacy of Suicide Scale (LOSS) and intervention skills were measured with the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory (SIRI).
Results: The majority believed that suicide risk assessment training was very important to undergraduate medical education. Although limitations were noted, this study did not demonstrate that safeTALK training significantly improved medical students’ suicide literacy levels or suicide intervention skills.
Conclusions: A more comprehensive program including the epidemiology of suicide and mental health disorders in addition to intervention skills is recommended to ensure medical learners are equipped to dispel the stigmas surrounding suicide and offer the appropriate care and follow up to their patients in future practice.References
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6. Sudak D, Roy A, Sudak H, Lipschitz A, Maltsberger J, Hendin H. Deficiencies in Suicide Training in Primary Care Specialties: A Survey of Training Directors. Academic Psychiatry. 2007;31(5), 345-349.
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11. Fiedorowicz JG, Weldon K, Bergus G. Determining suicide risk (Hint: A screen is not enough). The Journal of Family Practice. 2010;59(5), 256-260.
12. Cross W, Mattieu MM, Lezine D, Know KL. Does a brief suicide prevention gatekeeper training program enhance observed skills? Crisis. 2010;31(3), 149-159. doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000014.
13. Ubido J, Scott-Samuel A. Suicide Prevention Training (Rapid Evidence Review Series) LPHO Report Series no 99. Liverpool Public Health Observatory; 2014. Available at: http://www.liv.ac.uk/media/livacuk/instituteofpsychology/publichealthobservatory/LPHO,Suicide,Prevention,Training,Final.pdf. [Accessed July 15, 2015].
14. McLean J, Woodhouse A, Schinkel M, Pynnonen A, McBryde L. Evaluation of the Scottish safeTALK Pilot. Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health, Edinburgh, 2007.
15. Sareen J, Isaak C, Bolton S, et al. Gatekeeper training for suicide prevention in first nations community members: A randomized controlled trial. Depression and Anxiety. 2013;30(10), 1021-1029. doi:10.1002/da.22141.
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17. Chan WI, Batterham P, Christensen H, Galletly C. Suicide literacy, suicide stigma and help-seeking intentions in Australian medical students. Australasian Psychiatry. 2014;22(2), 132-139.
18. Fujisawa D, Suzuki Y, Kato TA, et al. Suicide Intervention Skills Among Japanese Medical Residents. Academic Psychiatry. 2013;37(6), 402-407.
19. Kato TA, Suzuki Y, Sato R, et al. Development of 2-hour suicide intervention program among medical residents: First pilot trial. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. 2010;64, 531-540. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1819.2010.02114.
20. Fiedorowicz JG, Tate J, Miller AC, Franklin, EM, Gourley R, Rosenbaum M. A medical interviewing curriculum intervention for medical students’ assessment of suicide risk. Academic Psychiatry. 2013;37(6), 398-401.
21. Hawgood JL, Krysinska KE, Ide N, De Leo D. Is suicide prevention properly taught in medical schools? Medical Teacher. 2008;30, 287-295. doi:10.1080/01421590701753542.
22. Mellanby RJ, Hudson NP, Allister R, et al. Evaluation of suicide awareness programmes delivered to veterinary undergraduates and academic staff. The Veterinary Record. 2010 167(19), 730-734. doi:10.1136/vr.c5427.
23. King DB, O’Rourke N, DeLongis A. Social media recruitment and online data collection: A beginner’s guide and best practices for accessing low-prevalence and hard-to-reach populations. Canadian Psychology. 2014;55, 240-249.
24. Neimeyer RA, Diamond RJ. Suicide management skills and the medical student. Academic Medicine. 1983;58(7), 562-7.
25. Neimeyer RA, Maclnnes WD. Assessing paraprofessional competence with the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 1981;28(2), 176.
26. Neimeyer RA, Pfeiffer AM. Evaluation of suicide intervention effectiveness. Death Studies. 1994;18, 131-66.
27. Jorm AF, Barney LJ, Christensen H, Highet NJ, Kelly CM, Kitchener BA. Research on mental health literacy: What we know and what we still need to know. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 2006;40(1), 3-5.
28. Nichols DP. My coefficient is negative! SPSS Keywords. 1999; 68. Available at: http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/Spss/library/negalpha.htm [Accessed July 15, 2015].
2. Isaac M, Elias B, Katz LY, et al. Gatekeeper training as a preventative intervention for suicide: A systematic review. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry- Revue Canadienne de Psychiatre. 2009;54(4), 260-8.
3. Mann, JJ, Apter A, Bertolote J, et al. Suicide prevention strategies: a systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2005;294(16), 2064-74.
4. Statistics Canada. Table 102-0551 Suicides and suicide rate, by sex and by age group (Both sexes no.) CANSIM (database), no date. Last modified 2014-01-28 Available at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/hlth66a-eng.htm [Accessed July 15, 2015].
5. Luoma JB, Martin CE, Pearson JL. Contact with mental health and primary providers before suicide: A review of the evidence. The American Journal of Psychiatry. 2002;159(6), 909-916. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.159.6.909.
6. Sudak D, Roy A, Sudak H, Lipschitz A, Maltsberger J, Hendin H. Deficiencies in Suicide Training in Primary Care Specialties: A Survey of Training Directors. Academic Psychiatry. 2007;31(5), 345-349.
7. Feldman M, Franks P, Duberstein PR, Vannoy S, Epstein R, Kravitz RL. Let’s not talk about it: Suicide inquiry in primary care. Annals of Family Medicine. 2007;5(5), 412-418. doi:10.1370/afm.719.
8. Öncü B, Soykan Ç., İhan İÖ, Sayıl I. Attitudes of medical students, general practitioners, teachers, and police officers toward suicide in a Turkish sample. Crisis. 2008;29(4), 173-179.
9. Ranahan, P. Pathways for preparation: Locating suicide education in preparing professionals for encounters with suicidal adolescents. Child & Youth Services. 2013;34(4), 387-401. doi:10.1080/0145935X.2013.859908.
10. Yousuf S, Beh PSL, Wong PWC. Attitudes towards suicide following an undergraduate suicide prevention module: Experience of medical students in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Medical Journal. 2013;19(5), 377-385. doi: 10.12809/hkmj133950.
11. Fiedorowicz JG, Weldon K, Bergus G. Determining suicide risk (Hint: A screen is not enough). The Journal of Family Practice. 2010;59(5), 256-260.
12. Cross W, Mattieu MM, Lezine D, Know KL. Does a brief suicide prevention gatekeeper training program enhance observed skills? Crisis. 2010;31(3), 149-159. doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000014.
13. Ubido J, Scott-Samuel A. Suicide Prevention Training (Rapid Evidence Review Series) LPHO Report Series no 99. Liverpool Public Health Observatory; 2014. Available at: http://www.liv.ac.uk/media/livacuk/instituteofpsychology/publichealthobservatory/LPHO,Suicide,Prevention,Training,Final.pdf. [Accessed July 15, 2015].
14. McLean J, Woodhouse A, Schinkel M, Pynnonen A, McBryde L. Evaluation of the Scottish safeTALK Pilot. Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health, Edinburgh, 2007.
15. Sareen J, Isaak C, Bolton S, et al. Gatekeeper training for suicide prevention in first nations community members: A randomized controlled trial. Depression and Anxiety. 2013;30(10), 1021-1029. doi:10.1002/da.22141.
16. Sato R, Kawanishi C, Yamada T, et al. Knowledge and attitude towards suicide among medical students in Japan: Preliminary study. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. 2006;60, 558-562. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1819.2006.01558.
17. Chan WI, Batterham P, Christensen H, Galletly C. Suicide literacy, suicide stigma and help-seeking intentions in Australian medical students. Australasian Psychiatry. 2014;22(2), 132-139.
18. Fujisawa D, Suzuki Y, Kato TA, et al. Suicide Intervention Skills Among Japanese Medical Residents. Academic Psychiatry. 2013;37(6), 402-407.
19. Kato TA, Suzuki Y, Sato R, et al. Development of 2-hour suicide intervention program among medical residents: First pilot trial. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. 2010;64, 531-540. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1819.2010.02114.
20. Fiedorowicz JG, Tate J, Miller AC, Franklin, EM, Gourley R, Rosenbaum M. A medical interviewing curriculum intervention for medical students’ assessment of suicide risk. Academic Psychiatry. 2013;37(6), 398-401.
21. Hawgood JL, Krysinska KE, Ide N, De Leo D. Is suicide prevention properly taught in medical schools? Medical Teacher. 2008;30, 287-295. doi:10.1080/01421590701753542.
22. Mellanby RJ, Hudson NP, Allister R, et al. Evaluation of suicide awareness programmes delivered to veterinary undergraduates and academic staff. The Veterinary Record. 2010 167(19), 730-734. doi:10.1136/vr.c5427.
23. King DB, O’Rourke N, DeLongis A. Social media recruitment and online data collection: A beginner’s guide and best practices for accessing low-prevalence and hard-to-reach populations. Canadian Psychology. 2014;55, 240-249.
24. Neimeyer RA, Diamond RJ. Suicide management skills and the medical student. Academic Medicine. 1983;58(7), 562-7.
25. Neimeyer RA, Maclnnes WD. Assessing paraprofessional competence with the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 1981;28(2), 176.
26. Neimeyer RA, Pfeiffer AM. Evaluation of suicide intervention effectiveness. Death Studies. 1994;18, 131-66.
27. Jorm AF, Barney LJ, Christensen H, Highet NJ, Kelly CM, Kitchener BA. Research on mental health literacy: What we know and what we still need to know. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 2006;40(1), 3-5.
28. Nichols DP. My coefficient is negative! SPSS Keywords. 1999; 68. Available at: http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/Spss/library/negalpha.htm [Accessed July 15, 2015].
Published
31-Dec-2017
How to Cite
Wilson, B., & Neufeld, E. (2017). SafeTALK suicide training: An evaluation of attitudes and actions among medical students. Res Medica, 24(1), 4-16. https://doi.org/10.2218/resmedica.v24i1.1538
Section
Original Research Article
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