TABLE 3. Suicide Risk Assessment and Provider Actions at the Final VHA Visit.
| Provider Action | Patients Dying by Suicide (n=244) |
Matched Comparison Patients (n=244) |
Number of Discordant Pairsa |
P valueb | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | N | % | N / N | ||
| Suicidal Ideation Assessed | 73d | 29.9d | 49d | 20.1d | 57/33 | 0.01 |
| Suicidal Ideation Endorsed (among Assessed Patients) |
11 (of 73) |
15.1 | 2 (of 49) |
4.1 | 11/2 | 0.07c |
| Suicidal Plan Assessed | 17 | 7.0 | 6 | 2.5 | 17/6 | 0.02 |
| Suicidal Plan Endorsed (among Assessed Patients) |
4 (of 17) |
23.5 | 0 (of 6) |
0 | 4/0 | 0.54c |
| Safety Planning conducted | 13 | 5.3 | 3 | 1.2 | 13/3 | 0.01 |
| Access to Means Assessed | 6 | 2.5 | 3 | 1.2 | 6/3 | 0.32 |
| Hospitalization Considered | 3 | 1.4e | 1 | 0.4e | 3/1 | 0.32 |
Discordant pairs reported as Number of matched pairs in which Patient Dying by Suicide Assessed (or Action taken) but Comparison patient not assessed (or no action)/Number of matched pairs in which Patient Dying by Suicide Not Assessed (or No Action Taken) but Comparison Patient Assessed (or Action taken).
All p-values are from McNemar’s test except where noted.
p-values based on Fisher’s exact test.
Counts and rates of assessment of suicidal ideation for subsample restricted to the 157 patients dying by suicide and the 161 comparison patients with a current depression diagnosis (Major Depression or Depression NOS) or current antidepressant use at final visit are: 63 patients, 40.1% (patients dying by suicide) and 42 patients, 26.1% (comparison patients). Both rates are statistically different at p=0.0012 or less from the rates for patients without current diagnoses or antidepressant use. P value for the comparison between patients dying by suicide and comparison patients equals 0.009 (Fisher’s exact test).
Does not include the 22 patients dying by suicide and 5 comparison patients who were inpatient at the time of their last final assessment, since they were already hospitalized.