Suicide Risk Assessment: Research, Themes, and Best Practices
This paper presents a literature review on suicide risk assessment and prevention in the United States, drawing on five key sources published between 2008 and 2019. The paper summarizes findings from systematic reviews and epidemiological studies, identifying recurring themes such as the limitations of standardized risk scales, the need for comprehensive psychosocial assessments, and the importance of combining multiple prevention strategies. The paper also proposes future research directions — including the potential role of humanities-based education in reducing suicide rates — and outlines best practices for clinicians and organizations working to identify and support individuals at risk of suicide.
- Overview: Suicide as a US public health crisis
- Literature Review: Summaries of five key research sources
- Common Themes: Shared findings across reviewed studies
- Future Research Directions: Proposed preventive and educational approaches
- Best Practices: Recommendations for suicide risk assessment
- Conclusion: Ongoing epidemic and complexity of solutions
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper synthesizes multiple peer-reviewed sources coherently, drawing consistent conclusions about the limitations of standardized risk scales across several independent studies.
- It moves logically from a literature review through thematic analysis to actionable best practices, giving the paper a clear applied focus that is useful for practitioners.
- The inclusion of a forward-looking section on future research — including the novel idea of humanities-based education as a preventive strategy — demonstrates original thinking beyond simple summarization.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates thematic synthesis across a literature review: rather than simply describing each source in isolation, the author identifies shared conclusions (e.g., the inadequacy of single-scale risk tools and the need for individualized psychosocial assessment) and uses those convergences to justify specific best-practice recommendations. This is a key undergraduate-level skill in academic writing.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a conventional review structure: an overview establishing the public health context, a source-by-source literature review, a thematic synthesis identifying patterns across sources, a brief section on future research directions, a best practices section translating findings into recommendations, and a conclusion summarizing the ongoing challenge. Each section builds on the previous one, moving from description to analysis to application.
Overview
As Castaneda (2018) points out, suicide has become something of an epidemic in the United States, where in 2016 alone 45,000 people died by suicide. Furthermore, from 1999 to 2016, suicide rates rose in almost every U.S. state (Castaneda, 2018). Even highly successful people like Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain have been susceptible to suicide, which is why it is so important to be able to identify indicators of when someone is at risk. Suicide is clearly a major public health concern, and risk assessments are a key part of suicide prevention.
Risk assessments help identify individuals who may be at risk for suicide and provide information about the signs and symptoms associated with it. They also help determine the level of risk and the best course of treatment. While risk assessments are not perfect, they are an important tool in suicide prevention. By identifying those at risk, interventions can be put in place to help reduce the likelihood of suicide. This paper provides a literature review of sources related to this topic, summarizes the findings and methods of those sources, examines common themes, and discusses best practices that organizations might consider regarding suicide risk assessment going forward.
References
Castaneda, R. (2018). What Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade can teach us about mental health. Retrieved from https://health.usnews.com/wellness/mind/articles/2018-07-12/what-anthony-bourdain-and-kate-spade-can-teach-us-about-mental-health
Chan, M. K., Bhatti, H., Meader, N., Stockton, S., Evans, J., O'Connor, R. C., Kapur, N., & Kendall, T. (2016). Predicting suicide following self-harm: systematic review of risk factors and risk scales. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 209(4), 277–283.
Harris, I. M., Beese, S., & Moore, D. (2019). Predicting repeated self-harm or suicide in adolescents and young adults using risk assessment scales/tools: a systematic review protocol. Systematic Reviews, 8(1), 1–6.
Nock, M. K., Borges, G., Bromet, E. J., Cha, C. B., Kessler, R. C., & Lee, S. (2008). Suicide and suicidal behavior. Epidemiologic Reviews, 30(1), 133–154.
Zalsman, G., Hawton, K., Wasserman, D., van Heeringen, K., Arensman, E., Sarchiapone, M., Carli, V., Höschl, C., Barzilay, R., Balazas, J., Purebl, G., Kahn, J. P., Sáiz, P. A., Lipsicas, C. B., Bobes, J., Cozman, D., Hegerl, U., & Zohar, J. (2016). Suicide prevention strategies revisited: 10-year systematic review. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(7), 646–659.
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