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S057-4

From Macro to Micro Suicide Prevention Strategy: Linking the Individual-level
Suicide Assessment to High-risk Management

Chia-Yi Wu1, Shih-Cheng Liao1,Ming-Been Lee1, For-Wei Lung2

1National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taiwan 2Calo Psychiatric Hospital, Taiwan

Background/Objective: In Taiwan there has been a decreasing trend of annual suicide rate (with a
20% of decrease) in the past decade under the implementation of an overarching National Suicide
Prevention Strategy. However, recent social and economic changes have called for further attention
on individual-level suicide prevention strategies to better manage the suicide high-risk group with
multiple needs for care. The study aims to validate a brief scale for early detection of suicide risk and
psychopathology to facilitate case finding and treatment referral.

Method: We invented the Concise Mental Health Checklist (CMHC) for validation and applied to
heterogeneous group. The CMHC is consisted of two sets of scales, i.e. the Revised Five-item Brief
Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5R) and the Chinese SAD PERSONS Scale (CSPS) with separate
scoring method. The study sample was recruited from psychiatric outpatient/ daycare unit,
emergency department, and community residents. All the sample subjects were asked to complete the
CMHC and related demographic information.

Result: Among the total sample (N=3539), 2120 were from community sample, 1019 from the OPD,
and 400 from the ER. The Cronbach’s alpha for the three sources was ranged between 0.65-0.79 for
the BSRS-5R and 0.39-0.68 for the CSPS. The results of factor analysis indicated a distinct
three-factor structure consisting of the demographics, psychopathology, and suicide risks, with wide
applicability of the scale on people with various mental health problems.

Conclusion: The finding suggested the feasibility of applying an effective and short scale in different
settings for early suicide risk identification. It is considerable to screen for both common mental
disorders and suicide risks using the CMHC on community clients and clinical patients.

Reference: Wu CY, Lee JI, Lee MB, Liao SC, Chang CM, Chen HC, Lung FW. (2015). Predictive
validity of a five-item symptom checklist to screen psychiatric morbidity and suicide ideation in
general population and psychiatric settings. J Formos Med Assoc, http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2015.05.004.
Liao SC, Lee MB, Lung FW, Chang CM, Wu CY. Suicide prevention in Taiwan: a ten-year review.
Taiwan J Public Health. 2015:34(3):227-239