Table 2.
Principal components of health professionals’ practices towards suicide attempters.
| Component Label | Items–Intervention | Responses Likely or Very Likely to Be Adopted–Valid % | Components | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Psychol | Psychia | GPs | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | ||
| 1. Comprehensive Risk Assessment | I ask about the lethal means used in the attempt | 70.3 | 68.3 | 86.8 | 60.0 | 0.736 | |||
| I try to understand the motives that triggered the attempt | 92.9 | 93.7 | 98.1 | 86.7 | 0.710 | ||||
| I ask if he/she wants to die | 72.8 | 67.5 | 86.8 | 71.7 | 0.699 | ||||
| I ask what he expected when attempting suicide | 70.6 | 69.0 | 86.5 | 60.o | 0.693 | ||||
| I ask how he/she feels about having survived | 62.3 | 38.9 | 64.2 | 21.7 | 0.685 | ||||
| I explore the existence of an elaborate suicide plan | 83.6 | 83.3 | 98.1 | 71.7 | 0.677 | ||||
| I assess the circumstances in which the attempt was carried out | 83.3 | 86.5 | 90.6 | 70.0 | 0.662 | ||||
| I approach the theme of death | 69.5 | 73.0 | 83.0 | 50.0 | 0.649 | ||||
| I assess the risk factors | 85.8 | 88.1 | 88.7 | 78.3 | 0.644 | ||||
| I try to understand the meanings of the suicide attempt | 93.3 | 96.8 | 92.5 | 86.7 | 0.643 | ||||
| I ask what reasons he/she has for living and for dying | 63.1 | 61.1 | 66.0 | 64.4 | 0.628 | ||||
| I ask about prior suicide attempts | 84.1 | 84.1 | 94.3 | 75.0 | 0.575 | ||||
| I ask questions about problems he may be experiencing | 91.6 | 91.3 | 94.2 | 90.0 | 0.548 | ||||
| I try to understand how the patient usually solves his/her problems | 72.0 | 83.3 | 77.4 | 43.3 | 0.547 | 0.516 | |||
| I ask about the two days prior to the suicide attempt | 50.7 | 50.8 | 64.2 | 38.3 | 0.545 | 0.412 | 0.424 | ||
| I try to understand if there is a non-solved or current mourning process | 70.6 | 73.0 | 67.9 | 67.8 | 0.545 | ||||
| I try to find out at what time the suicide attempt was carried out | 38.1 | 34.1 | 58.5 | 28.3 | 0.533 | 0.517 | |||
| I assess the hopelessness | 66.1 | 68.3 | 83.0 | 46.7 | 0.514 | 0.388 | |||
| I ask about the alcohol and drugs consuming habits | 77.0 | 69.0 | 96.2 | 76.7 | 0.501 | 0.464 | |||
| I assess depression | 92.9 | 88.9 | 98.0 | 96.7 | 0.489 | ||||
| I ask about the family suicidal background | 74.0 | 65.9 | 98.1 | 70.0 | 0.483 | 0.453 | |||
| 2. Protocols, psychotherapy and connectedness | I use specific suicidal behavior assessment instruments | 23.0 | 36.5 | 7.5 | 8.3 | 0.835 | |||
| I use specific intervention protocols for suicidal behaviors | 30.9 | 46.0 | 20.8 | 8.3 | 0.835 | ||||
| I use formal instruments to assess suicide risk | 26.4 | 38.9 | 5.8 | 18.3 | 0.754 | ||||
| I refer to psychotherapy | 73.9 | 85.7 | 50.0 | 70.0 | 0.560 | ||||
| I set written suicide prevention contracts | 22.4 | 35.7 | 9.8 | 5.1 | 0.546 | ||||
| I carried out a personality evaluation | 59.0 | 61.1 | 64.2 | 50.0 | 0.513 | ||||
| I give a mobile phone number | 33.0 | 40.5 | 30.2 | 20.0 | 0.378 | ||||
| I suggest using the internet to communication | 7.1 | 8.7 | 5.7 | 5.0 | 0.306 | ||||
| 3. Multidisciplinary clinical approach | I refer to psychiatric counselling/monitoring | 83.7 | 75.4 | 86.5 | 98.3 | 0.665 | |||
| I advise a continued care plan | 90.4 | 90.5 | 86.8 | 93.3 | 0.602 | ||||
| I refer to a colleague who is better prepared in this area | 50.6 | 49.2 | 15.1 | 85.0 | 0.538 | ||||
| I refer to psychological counselling | 75.6 | 83.2 | 57.7 | 75.0 | 0.504 | ||||
| I prescribe medication/I refer to a professional who can prescribe medication | 67.7 | 69.8 | 69.8 | 61.0 | 0.497 | ||||
| I refer to the general practitioner | 19.6 | 14.3 | 5.7 | 44.6 | 0.401 | ||||
| I try that the patient be hospitalized | 26.3 | 14.3 | 39.8 | 43.3 | 0.385 | ||||
| 4. Family | I engage the family in the process | 59.8 | 86.5 | 90.6 | 70.0 | 0.774 | |||
| I conduct a family interview | 40.1 | 38.9 | 64.2 | 21.7 | 0.379 | 0.737 | |||
| I provide counselling to the family | 43.1 | 38.9 | 49.1 | 46.7 | 0.731 | ||||
| % explained variance (44.10) | 23.91 | 9.75 | 5.65 | 4.80 | |||||
| Cronbach’s alpha | 0.915 | 0.806 | 0.575 | 0.794 | |||||
| Mean inter-item correlation | 0.2 | ||||||||
Notes: F = factor; Psychol = Psychologists. Psychia = Psychiatrists. GPs = General practitioners.