Clinical Practice Guideline Updated for Service Members and Veterans at Risk of Suicide

Clinical Practice Guideline Updated for Service Members and Veterans at Risk of Suicide

FALLS CHURCH, Virginia - A joint Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs working group has announced a revised clinical practice guideline for clinicians evaluating patients at high risk of suicidal thoughts or actions.

"The Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide (2024)," updates the 2019 clinical practice guideline based on a 2022 decision by the working group on the need to incorporate expanded evidence in this clinical area. The Defense Health Agency and VA regularly update clinical practice guidelines with the latest science and practical care for DHA and VA health care providers.

The body of research on suicide risk-management, suicide prevention, interventions, and postvention continues to grow. "It's very encouraging to note a significant increase in high-quality studies on suicide prevention and intervention since the last clinical practice guideline was produced in 2019," said Kate McGraw, chief of DHA's Psychological Health Center of Excellence.

"These new studies allowed us to fine-tune recommendations based on more evidence than we had during the last clinical practice guideline," said McGraw, pointing to the grading methodology used. "These changes resulted in updated decision algorithms and the development of eight new recommendations."

The new clinical practice guideline includes updated recommendations on these key topics:

• Universal screening
• Screening tool selection
• Dialectal behavior therapy (a type of talk psychotherapy)

The clinical practice guideline also provides advice on acute warning signs, predictive analytics, risk stratification, and risk management.

The guideline is intended for use across the Military Health System and the VA for service members, beneficiaries, and veterans who choose or need to be treated within their respective health care systems. The clinical practice guideline is also available for community providers and others in the health care teams involved with the assessment and management of adult patients at acute risk for suicide.

Visit health.mil to learn more about the updated clinical practice guideline. Media with additional questions should contact DHA Media Relations at [email protected].