Effectiveness of Simulation-Based Suicide Risk Assessment Training Among Undergraduate Medical Students in India

Background Suicide is a major public health challenge,, particularly in low- and middle-income countries like India,where mental health training for primary care providers is limited. Simulation based training, though widely used across medical specialties, is underutilized in psychiatry. This study evaluates the effectiveness of integrating simulation videos for suicide risk assessment into the undergraduate medical student competency based curriculum in India. Methods This is a quasi-experimental study with a crossover design involving 60 Phase 2 MBBS students from Sri Ramachandra Medical College, Chennai. A self-report questionnaire assessing knowledge, attitudes, and confidence regarding suicide risk assessment was administered before and after the training sessions. All the participants received didactic lectures and simulated based sessions in varying sequence. Results At baseline, there were no significant differences between the groups. Both groups showed significant improvement, with greater confidence gains in students exposed to simulation first..Simulation based training using recorded videos demonstrated pedagogical utility in low resource educational settings. Conclusion Integrating simulation videos into the undergraduate medical curriculum is both feasible and potentially effective way in enhancing students' competency in suicide risk assessment. This approach provides a practical, low-resource solution for improving training in suicide prevention, particularly in settings with limited access to specialized mental health education. Future work should evaluate long term retention of knowledge, behavioural and patient outcomes in real world clinical settings.