Evaluating the suicide risk-screening scale used by general nurses on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer: a questionnaire survey

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the interview version of the screening of risk for suicide with redefined items for the hospitalised patients.

Background: Patients hospitalised in general hospitals with physical illnesses performed suicidal acts more rapidly after admission.

Design: A two-hour screening skills training course was provided to general nurses caring for hospitalised patients. The patients were rated by trained nurses according to the screening of risk for suicide. Then, patients did self-rating of repulsion of life scale and symptom distress. The participants were 54 trained nurses and 205 patients, 76 of whom had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 129 had lung cancer.

Methods: The trained nurses used the screening of risk for suicide to screen patients and compared their results with their trainers within 24 hours for inter-rater consistency, followed by patients' self-rating.

Results: The inter-rater reliability between nurses and their trainers was 0·85. The screening of risk for suicide rated by nurses correlated significantly with repulsion to life and symptom distress rated by patients. There were 26·3% (20) of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 14·0% (18) of patients with lung cancer who showed moderate-to-high suicide risk, most of them having poor social support. The nurse's score on patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was higher than patient's self-rating.

Conclusions: The screening of risk for suicide was useful in alerting the general nurses to high-risk patients and the nurse' screening collected more in-depth data than patients' self-rating. It is suggested that this suicide risk-screening training should incorporate into continuing education in general hospital and the use of Screening of Risk for Suicide incorporating into new patient nursing assessment. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE.: The two-hour suicide risk-screening training could renew the general nurse skill of risk screening for the hospitalised patients.