Understanding Suicide Risk Through Staff Experience in Psychiatric Units: Association With Gender, Age, Timing of Events, and Ligature Points

This interview project of staff at inpatient psychiatric units expands upon our prior study of 143 attempted suicides and suicides across 50 inpatient psychiatric units, which explored understudied associations between variables (i.e., risk factors) and suicide‑related events and identified several novel findings. While that study documented what variables were linked to these events, it did not explain why these relationships might occur. To address this gap, the current project used semistructured interviews with experienced inpatient psychiatric staff to explore their interpretations of the relation between suicide-related events and patient gender, patient age, event month, event day of week, event time of day, days after admission, and use of a ligature point during neck compression. Participants reviewed visual summaries of key variables and discussed whether the patterns aligned with their expectations, what factors might explain them, and what strategies could reduce associated risks. The participants generated clear, contextual insights that deepen our understanding of suicide-related events and the risk reduction strategies being implemented in the field.