Clinically assessing suicide risk
A new mnemonic tool we learned today for assessing suicide risk is SAD PERSONS by Patterson et al.:
- Social support (lack of)
- Age (<19 years old and >45 years old)
- Depression
- Previous attempts
- Ethanol abuse
- Rational thinking loss
- Sex (male)
- Organized plan
- No spouse
- Sickness (chronic or debilitating)
A clinician quickly pointed out that while this is an excellent framework, the focus should always be on the patient and assessing them holistically. Other subtle factors from their general responses and appearances can also give us an idea of suicide risk in these situations. In addition, while points are assigned equally among these factors, it would be intuitive to believe that some factors, such as having an organized plan would be weighted more heavily in the assessment than others. What good suicide risk assessment eventually boils down to as the clinician summarizes, is experience.
