Screening and Risk Algorithms for Detecting Pediatric Suicide Risk in the Emergency Department

How does the performance of in-person screening compare with risk algorithms in identifying youths at risk of suicide?In this cohort study of 19 653 youths, a risk algorithm using patients’ clinical data significantly outperformed universal screening instruments in identifying pediatric patients in the emergency department at risk of subsequent suicide attempts. The risk algorithm uniquely identified 127% more patients with subsequent suicide attempts than screening.These findings suggest that clinical implementation of suicide risk algorithms will improve identification of at-risk patients and may substantially assist health care organizations’ efforts to meet the Joint Commission’s suicide risk reduction requirement.

Corresponding Author: Robert H. Aseltine Jr, PhD, Division of Behavioral Sciences and Community Health, UConn Health, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, CT 06030 (aseltine@uchc.edu).

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