Implementation of a countywide adult suicide review commission: Development, lessons learned, and recommendations. Suicide Life Threat Behav 2024 May 03
Date
05/03/2024Pubmed ID
38700425DOI
10.1111/sltb.13089Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85192173194 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Fatality review is a public health approach designed to inform efforts to prevent fatalities of a certain kind (e.g., suicide, homicide) or in a specific setting or population (e.g., hospitals, youth). Despite extensive literature on fatality review generally, the literature on suicide review teams specifically is scant. The aim of this paper is to: describe the implementation of a local adult suicide review commission, detail examples of initial outcomes and recommendations developed by the commission, and provide recommendations and/or best practices for how to develop and implement an adult suicide review team.
METHODS: We utilize framing questions from the American Association of Suicidology's psychological autopsy framework. By using these guiding questions in the discussion, members are invited to explore not only the stressors that may have more immediately preceded the suicide event itself, but to situate those stressors in the context of the individual's life course.
RESULTS: Several recommendations proposed by our commission have resulted in tangible outcomes and are detailed using Haddon's Matrix as a guiding prevention planning tool.
IMPLICATIONS: We have highlighted the need to move beyond looking at individual-level help-seeking to focus on structural/systemic issues that result in stress or create unsafe environments for at-risk individuals.
Author List
Kohlbeck SA, Schramm AT, Monroe T, Kant J, McLeod E, deRoon-Cassini TA, Hargarten SWAuthors
Sara Kohlbeck PhD, MPH Assistant Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinTerri A. deRoon Cassini PhD Center Director, Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
