Les conduites suicidaires sont une forme fréquente d'expression de la souffrance de nombreux jeunes aujourd'hui. Il est important de prendre en compte et d'évaluer ces conduites et donc de disposer de moyens d'investigation adéquats. Une étude a été menée dans un Service Universitaire de Psychiatrie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent, dans le but de mieux cerner les modes d'évaluation actuels des différents intervenants et d'envisager l'introduction d'un guide d'aide à l'évaluation du potentiel suicidaire en milieu ambulatoire et hospitalier. Un questionnaire semi-structuré a été élaboré afin de réaliser des entretiens individuels auprès des soignants dans quatre unités cliniques. Au total, 62 professionnels (médecins, psychologues, infirmiers, enseignants spécialisés et assistants sociaux) ont participé à l'étude. Il ressort de cette étude que si les moyens utilisés pour évaluer le risque suicidaire sont considérés comme assez satisfaisants par les deux tiers des intervenants, l'évaluation du risque suicidaire reste complexe. À ce titre, il semble utile de compléter les outils déjà à disposition par un guide d'aide à l'évaluation permettant de disposer d'un outil commun dans une institution où la communication entre intervenants est indispensable.
Nowadays adolescents often express mourning by suicidal behaviour. It is therefore important to be able to provide suitable investigation tools. A study was carried out at a Department of Adolescent Psychiatry in the French-speaking region of Switzerland with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the present assessment techniques and in order to propose the introduction of a guide for the assessment of suicidal behaviour in both out and in patient units. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed in order to proceed to individual interviews in four clinical units. 62 professionals (medical doctors, psychologists, nurses, specialised teachers and social workers) participated in the study. The results show that during the three months before the study, 2/3 of the care providers had performed suicide risks assessments between one and ten times. Suicide risks must therefore be considered as a serious problem for the majority of care providers. Comparing the different interventions, it was observed that nurses and medical doctors performed suicide risk assessments more often than psychologists and social workers and that they generally took less time to do so. The study showed that the different techniques for performing suicide risk assessments corresponded to those quoted in almost all research studies relating to suicide risk factors: psychopathology, a previous suicide attempt, problems in the family, life events and negative social environment. When should suicide risks be assessed? For most of the participants in the study, a systematic suicide risk assessment is recommended for all patients and is a requirement for patients with a history of a suicidal risk. Among suicide risk assessment techniques, the most frequently quoted is that of a discussion with the team of care providers. Even if the care providers' level of satisfaction is relatively high, other potential techniques are also mentioned such as an interview guide, and ad hoc training and tests. It is interesting to note that only one care provider mentioned the use of a questionnaire whereas 30 care providers would have liked to introduce one. It is well known that questionnaires cannot predict a suicide attempt, but they can help provide an assessment of suicide risks in order to help care for patients. Care providers generally mentioned that they appreciated having time for discussions with patients and would like having even more time. The majority of care providers reported that they were relatively satisfied with their suicide risk assessment techniques but that they would have liked to have the possibility of using a more systematic assessment technique. In this context, it seems useful to complement existing techniques with a guide to help assess suicide risks in order to provide a common tool in institutions where communications between care providers is essential. The assessment technique developed by Terra and Séguin featuring specific training and a guide for helping to assess suicide risks was introduced in our Clinical Department to help care providers better assess this important problem.