Educational intervention to improve emergency nursing care for patients after suicide attempts

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the impact of an educational intervention aimed at improving knowledge and clinical understanding for emergency nursing professionals who care for patients following suicide attempts.

Methods A quasi-experimental before-and-after study was conducted in Brazil in 2024 with 130 nursing professionals who were allocated to an intervention group (n = 25) that received a structured, interactive educational program or to an active control group (n = 105) that received written educational materials. Knowledge related to suicide attempts was assessed using a 14-item instrument administered before and after the interventions. Paired comparisons were performed using parametric or nonparametric tests based on data distribution, and effect sizes were calculated to estimate the magnitude of change.

Results The intervention group showed statistically significant improvements in misconceptions related to suicide myths, religiosity, and stigma, with effect sizes ranging from negligible (p= -.01) to high (p =.90). The active control group showed negligible or small effects across all items (\textit{p} <.20), with not statistically significant pre-post differences.

Conclusions The intervention group demonstrated improvements in several domains related to misconceptions, stigma, and clinical understanding of suicide attempts, with effect sizes ranging from negligible to high (p = -.01 to.90). Largest effects were observed in items addressing suicide myths and moral or religious beliefs. In contrast, the active control group showed predominantly negligible or small effects (p <.20), with not statistically significant pre-post differences across most items. Items related to institutional safety procedures showed minimal change in both groups.

Keywords

Clinical trial / Mental health / Nurse practitioners / Nursing education research / Suicide attempt

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