Evaluation of Rural Primary Care Toolkit

An evaluation of a training based on the Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Rural Primary Care indicated that the training was effective at preparing health care providers to screen patients for suicide risk, and that it increased their knowledge about suicidal behavior and appropriate practice for patients at risk of suicide. The authors suggest that the success of the Toolkit can be attributed to a formative development process which involved both suicide prevention experts and rural primary care practitioners.

The Toolkit was designed to help primary care providers integrate suicide prevention activities into their practices by improving their ability to identify and respond to suicidal patients. Such activities include working with patients to create safety plans and developing relationships with mental health professionals who can treat these patients. It also includes resources to help practitioners educate their patients, patients’ families, and the community about suicide, and guidance on negotiating the billing and referral process when providing appropriate services to patients at risk for suicide.

This summary is based on: McFaul, M., Mohatt, N., and DeHay, T. (2014). Development, evaluation, and refinement of the Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Rural Primary Care Practices.Journal of Rural Mental Health 38(2), 116-127.

SPRC Extra: Get the Resource!

The Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Rural Primary Care is available as a free download from SPRC, which created this resource in collaboration with the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.