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P031

Implementing the VA/DoD Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide Clinical Practice Guideline into Practice: What Every Ambulatory Care Nurse Needs to Know to Deliver Evidence-Based Care


Purpose: Suicide has a significant impact on the United States effecting both veterans and the general population with a rate of 23.3 suicides per 100,000 veterans and 12.6 suicides per 100,000 non-veteran adults. Ambulatory care nurses (ACNs) care for veterans in all care settings since more than half of eligible veterans receive their care outside of the VHA. ACNs play a pivotal role in providing access to high-quality evidence-based care for suicidal patients. However, many ACNs have limited knowledge about evidence-based screening, evaluation, and treatment for suicidal patients. The use of the clinical practice guidelines (CPG) for patients at risk for suicide will assist ACNs to provide the best care for patients. CPGs are evidence-based recommendations intended to optimize the care of patients with specific conditions. CPGs developed by the VA and Department of Defense (DoD) are relevant to the care of veterans and non-veterans and are available in the public domain. This poster highlights CPG recommendations for the management of patients at risk for suicide to improve knowledge of evidence-based screening and treatments, reduce practice variation, and improve patient outcomes.

Review of literature: The VA/DoD evidence-based practice work group (EBPWG) convened a joint VA/DoD guideline development effort spearheaded by an interdisciplinary panel of practicing clinician experts. The guideline work group conformed to the Institute of Medicine's tenets for trustworthy guidelines. The guideline work group developed key questions in collaboration with the ECRI Institute, which systematically searched and evaluated the literature. A total of 190 publications were reviewed by the guideline work group members and supported the development of 21 practice recommendations. The CPG recommendations are based on a systematic review of the scientific evidence, a weighing of the benefits and harms of interventions, consideration of what is known about patient values and preferences, and consideration of the applicability of the evidence across demographic groups and settings.

Summary of the innovation or practice: The risk for suicide CPG is intended to promote evidence-based screening and management of suicidal patients, and thereby improve patient’s clinical outcomes. The CPG is designed to assist primary care and mental health clinicians and specialists in screening patients for suicide risk, determination of appropriate treatment, and delivery of individualized interventions with a focus on mental health recovery. The poster will convey information in a visually appealing color scheme that enhances the readability of the poster. The design will be simple and easy to follow, highlighting the most important information and key concepts from the assessment and management of patients at risk for suicide CPG. Algorithms and charts will be incorporated to illustrate the data and recommendations.

Implications for ambulatory care nurses: ACNs play a pivotal role in providing high-quality health care to patients, including veterans. Attending this poster session will assist the practicing ACNs in understanding the evidence-based process used to develop the VA/DoD Assessment and management of patients at risk for suicide CPG. Additionally, participants will understand the importance and clinical impact of delivering evidence-based pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to individuals at risk for suicide.

Learning Objective

  • After completing this learning activity, the participant will be able to assess innovations being used by other professionals in the specialty and evaluate the potential of implementing the improvements into practice.

Speaker

Speaker Image for Sarah Davis-Arnold
Sarah Davis-Arnold, MSN, RN, RCIS, NPD-BC, EBP-C

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