Assessment and Care of Adults at Risk for Suicidal Ideation and Behaviour

Published: January 2009
Available in English, Italian, Spanish
Mental health and substance use,  Older adults

Purpose and scope

The purpose of this best practice guideline (BPG) is to provide nurses with recommendations, based on the best available evidence, related to the assessment and management of adults at risk for suicidal ideation and behaviour. The intent is to increase nurses’ comfort, confidence and competence…

The purpose of this best practice guideline (BPG) is to provide nurses with recommendations, based on the best available evidence, related to the assessment and management of adults at risk for suicidal ideation and behaviour. The intent is to increase nurses’ comfort, confidence and competence in this practice area, in order to enhance safety for their clients and to lower the impact of suicide for society. This document is intended to provide support to the nurse in her/his care of the suicidal client.
The guideline will focus on individuals over the age of 17 and will address: 

  • recognition and assessment of risk for suicidal ideation and behaviour, 
  • nursing interventions towards the reduction of risk, and 
  • strategies to promote ongoing wellness for the client and the nurse.

Reference

Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario. (2008). Assessment and Care of Adults at Risk for Suicidal Ideation and Behaviour. Toronto, Canada. Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario.

Recommendations

Do you want to learn about and implement the most- up-to-date evidence-based recommendations on this topic with your colleagues? Download and share the full best practice guideline (BPG), Assessment and Care of Adults at Risk for Suicidal Ideation and Behaviour.
See below for a snapshot of the recommendations from this BPG. We strongly suggest you review the full BPG before implementing the recommendations and good practice statements. The BPG also includes further resources to support implementation and evaluation.  

Disclaimer: These guidelines are not binding for nurses, other health providers or the organizations that employ them. The use of these guidelines should be flexible and based on individual needs and local circumstances. They constitute neither a liability nor discharge from liability. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents at the time of publication, neither the authors nor the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) gives any guarantee as to the accuracy of the information contained in them or accepts any liability with respect to loss, damage, injury or expense arising from any such errors or omission in the contents of this work.

Methodology documents

Revision status

Current edition published: January 2009.

About the next edition

The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) is developing a second edition of this best practice guideline (BPG), with the working title Assessment and Care of Adults at Risk for Suicidal Ideation and Behaviour. The anticipated publication date is 2025. 

This new edition will replace RNAO's BPG Assessment and Care of Adults at Risk for Suicidal Ideation and Behaviour (2009).

1. Topic selection
In progress
2. Panel of experts
3. Systematic Review
4. Recommendation development
5. Stakeholder review
6. Publication

Contact

Contact us for any questions.