Are Genetic Counselors Screening for Adolescent Suicide Risk?
Condition: Healthy Volunteers
MeSH terms: Suicide
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Background:

      - Suicide is one of the main causes of death for adolescents in the U.S. The most effective
      way to decrease suicide is by training doctors to recognize the risk factors in their
      clients. One risk factor for suicide is chronic illness. So pediatric genetic counselors come
      across high-risk clients. But the suicide risk assessment (SRA) practices of these counselors
      are not well known. Researchers want to study learn more about this.

      Objectives:

      - To describe the practices, attitudes, and beliefs of genetic counselors about SRA of
      adolescents.

      Eligibility:

      - Genetic counselors who see adolescents ages 10 21

      Design:

        -  A study will be open to a listserv for genetic counselors.

        -  Participants will take a survey on their own.

        -  The survey will be online on a secure website.

        -  Participants will give data about themselves. This can include age, gender, job, etc.

        -  The survey will be about 60 questions.

        -  The survey will take around 20 25 minutes.

        -  The questions are about participants experiences, practices, attitudes, and beliefs
           about SRA.
    

Detailed description: 
      This study proposes to describe the practices, attitudes, and beliefs of genetic counselors
      in relation to suicide risk assessment (SRA) of their adolescent clients. Suicide is a major
      public health issue and one of the leading causes of death for adolescents in the U.S.
      Analysis of suicide prevention campaigns has shown that the most effective way to decrease
      suicide is by training physicians to recognize suicide risk factors in their patients .
      However, pediatricians do not consistently screen youth for suicide risk during routine
      check-ups. As chronic illness is an additional risk factor for suicide, pediatric genetic
      counselors encounter particularly high-risk clients and are well-positioned to assess for
      suicide risk due to the psychosocial nature of their work. However, the SRA practices of
      genetic counselors are largely unknown. In this study, the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior
      Change is used as a framework to describe how genetic counselors SRA self-efficacy and
      perceptions of the pros and cons of SRA relate to stages of readiness and practices of
      assessing clients for suicide risk. Specifically, we will be surveying genetic counselors
      about their practices, attitudes and beliefs concerning SRA of adolescent clients. First, we
      will determine genetic counselors frequency of SRA and their stage of readiness for routine
      screening. Second, we will measure genetic counselors SRA self-efficacy and their perceptions
      of the pros and cons of screening their clients. We will examine whether self-efficacy and
      perceptions of pros and cons are predictors of genetic counselors stage of readiness for
      routine suicide screening. Finally, we will qualitatively assess genetic counselors
      perceptions of the usability of a validated suicide screening tool (the ASQ) in genetic
      counseling sessions and their interest in receiving suicide screening training. We will use a
      cross-sectional, mixed-methods design in which counselors will complete an online
      questionnaire with quantitative components and open-ended responses. Participants will be
      recruited through the National Society of Genetic Counselors Student Research Survey
      listserv.
    

Observational model: Case-Only
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Keywords: Genetic Counseling; Clinical Decision-Making