Suicide risk support protocol

Data from the Institut national de santé publique indicate that suicidal behaviours are increasing at an alarming rate in Quebec, especially among youth (Lévesque, Rassy and Genest, 2022). Girls aged 14 to 19 years make the most visits to the emergency room and are more often hospitalized for suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts. An increase in ER visits and hospitalizations is also observed among boys from the same age group. It is important to note that in 2021, the rates of emergency room visits and hospitalizations for these young people are the highest ever reported in Quebec (Lévesque, Rassy and Genest, 2022).

The SécUrgence protocol, developed by Jessica Rassy as part of her postdoctoral studies, is a clinical protocol for the assessment and support of persons at risk of suicide who present to the emergency department. The purpose of this study is to adapt the SécUrgence protocol to a pediatric context (SécUrgencePED) and validate it. The development and validation of the SécUrgencePED protocol through expert consensus will ensure the safety of young people at risk of suicide who present to pediatric emergency departments and thus reduce these visits and ultimately deaths by suicide of young people who have visited these departments in Quebec.

Impact

This adaptation and validation of the SécUrgencePED protocol addresses a glaring problem in the area of assessing and supporting these young people in pediatric emergency rooms. The protocol has the potential to ensure the safety of all persons at risk of suicide who present to the emergency department and thus reduce suicide deaths of persons who have visited pediatric emergency departments in Quebec.

Leverage effect

In addition to complementing the principal investigator’s research program, this funding has the potential to propel the project towards a major SSHRC partnership application to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary impact of the SecUrgencePED protocol in a Quebec pediatric emergency department. The project will take place over two years.