142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Attitudes and beliefs among pediatricians toward suicide counseling

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 : 11:15 AM - 11:30 AM

Kevin T. Borrup, JD, MPA , Injury Prevention Center, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Kathryn Woods, PhD , Division of Behavioral Health, Nemours / A.I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE
Steven C. Rogers, MD , Emergency Medicine, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Barbara Rzepski, PhD , Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Garry Lapidus, PA-C, MPH , Injury Prevention Center, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Background/Purpose:  Up to 66% of youth had contact with a primary care physician within a month of their suicide and 83% within a year.  Clinical guidelines are in place for assessing suicide risk and providing care to suicidal youth.  The purpose of this study is to assess pediatrician attitudes and practices related to pediatric suicide screening and counseling.

Methods:  A 37-question survey was mailed to a random sample of 162 Connecticut pediatricians.  95 pediatricians (59%) completed and returned the survey via mail or fax.

Results:  59% (95/162) of pediatricians surveyed returned a completed survey.  60% agree that they are confident in their ability to assess risk factors for suicide.  Pediatricians who were confident in their ability to assess for suicide risk factors were more likely to always screen for suicidal ideation versus pediatricians who were less confident (58.2% v. 26.3%), more likely to refer patients to Emergency Mobile Psychiatric Services (25.5% v. 13.2%), and more likely to refer patients to the Emergency Department for immediate evaluation (31.5% v. 15.8%).

Conclusions:  Significant gaps exist between suicide screening/counseling guidelines and actual practice. Efforts should focus on building pediatricians' capacity for suicide risk factor assessment and screening for suicidal ideation.

Learning Areas:

Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Discuss suicide related counseling beliefs and practices in pediatric practice settings. Describe barriers in pediatric practice to assessing, treating, and screening for suicidal ideation.

Keyword(s): Suicide, Pediatrics

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have previously conducted research as the PI on suicide in Connecticut (see Borrup et al.(2008). Violent death in Connecticut, 2001 to 2004. Connecticut medicine, 72(4), 197-201). I have also conducted research as a co-investigator on pediatrician beliefs and attitudes on counseling behavior, related to teen driving safety (see Campbell, Borrup, et al. (2009). Pediatrician attitudes, knowledge, and practice behavior regarding teen driving safety. Journal of safety research, 40(2), 121-124).
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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