VA health care: efforts needed to ensure effective use and appropriate staffing of suicide prevention teams : report to Congressional committees

VA health care: efforts needed to ensure effective use and appropriate staffing of suicide prevention teams : report to Congressional committees

Collection:
Health Policy and Services Research
Contributor(s):
United States. Government Accountability Office, issuing body.
United States. Congress, issuing body.
Publication:
Washington, DC : United States Government Accountability Office, April 2021
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
Government Regulation
Suicide Prevention
Veterans -- psychology
United States
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs
Genre(s):
Technical Report
Abstract:
Why GAO did this study. Compared to the general population, veterans suffer a disproportionately higher rate of suicide. VA has stated that suicide prevention is the agency’s top clinical priority. At its local medical facilities, VHA employs suicide prevention teams, which include coordinators—staff with a full-time commitment to suicide prevention activities—and case managers. The Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act included a provision for GAO to review, among other issues, the responsibilities and workload of suicide prevention coordinators. This report examines how VHA (1) uses local suicide prevention teams, and (2) helps determine facilities’ suicide prevention staffing needs. To do this work, GAO analyzed team staffing data, reviewed VHA policies, and interviewed OMHSP officials and team staff from five medical facilities. The facilities were selected for variation in composition of suicide prevention teams, geographic location, and total number of patients, among other factors. What GAO recommends. GAO is making three recommendations, including that VHA (1) conduct an evaluation of local suicide prevention teams that includes an identification of the effects of program growth on workload, and (2) incorporate key practices for staffing model design into its determination of facilities’ suicide prevention staffing needs. VA concurred with GAO’s recommendations and identified actions it is taking to address them.
Copyright:
The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
Extent:
1 online resource (1 PDF file (i, 25 pages))
NLM Unique ID:
9918317785906676 (See catalog record)
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918317785906676