Duke Health Suicide Screening Tool More Accurate Identifying Patient Risks

A suicide screening tool developed by researchers from Duke Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs is far more accurate at identifying patients at risk for attempting suicide than current clinical assessments, which often have poor accuracy rates that can lead to the loss of life.

“This study shows that our risk assessment tool, called the Durham Risk Score, is likely to be more accurate at predicting future suicide attempts than doctors’ clinical judgement alone, or existing suicide risk assessments,” said lead author Nathan Kimbrel, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine and a clinician investigator at the Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System.