TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - Evaluating the prevalence of four recommended practices for suicide prevention following hospital discharge
JO  - Joint Commission journal on quality and patient safety
A1  - Chitavi, Salome O.
A1  - Patrianakos, Jamie
A1  - Williams, Scott C.
A1  - Schmaltz, Stephen P.
A1  - Ahmedani, Brian K.
A1  - Roaten, Kimberly
A1  - Boudreaux, Edwin D.
A1  - Brown, Gregory K.
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) for suicide prevention (NPSG.15.01.01) requires that accredited hospitals maintain policies/procedures for follow-up care at discharge for patients identified as at risk for suicide. The proportion of hospitals meeting these requirements through use of recommended discharge practices is unknown. <br><br>METHODS: This cross-sectional observational study explored the prevalence of suicide prevention activities among Joint Commission-accredited hospitals. A questionnaire was sent to 1,148 accredited hospitals. The authors calculated the percentage of hospitals reporting implementation of four recommended discharge practices for suicide prevention. <br><br>RESULTS: Of 1,148 hospitals, 346 (30.1%) responded. The majority (n = 212 [61.3%]) of hospitals had implemented formal safety planning, but few of those (n = 41 [19.3%]) included all key components of safety planning. Approximately a third of hospitals provided a warm handoff to outpatient care (n = 128 [37.0%)] or made follow-up contact with patients (n = 105 [30.3%]), and approximately a quarter (n = 97 [28.0%]) developed a plan for lethal means safety. Very few (n = 14 [4.0%]) hospitals met full criteria for implementing recommended suicide prevention activities at time of discharge. <br><br>CONCLUSION: The study revealed a significant gap in implementation of recommended practices related to prevention of suicide postdischarge. Additional research is needed to identify factors contributing to this implementation gap.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1553-7250
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjq.2024.02.007
ID  - ref1
ER  -