Reducing Suicidal Risk: A Multidisciplinary Quality Improvement Approach Implementing a Film Intervention in an Inpatient Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit

Introduction: Suicide continues to be a trending topic in media, which can have lasting repercussions for adolescents who view them. This quality improvement study investigates how a film intervention on the topic of suicide could be implemented into an inpatient unit to improve patient outcomes. Methodology: The study follows how art-related content impact variables and other demographic and diagnostic variables correlated to film’s effectiveness with our population.The film intervention was administered in small groups of 4 to 8 youth who were invited if they had a history of suicidality, self injurious behavior, depression, or trauma, which is reflective of a large percentage of our inpatient population. PALS therapist and/or Child Psychiatry Fellow conducted a group debriefing and process group addressing reactions to the film. A notetaker documented the dialogue as verbatim as possible to capture all responses, and thematic analysis was used for analysis of the discussion group data. Results/Discussion: The C-SSRS Severity Score average for participants in the study decreased from an average of 14.05 at admission to 9.33 discharge, though several other inpatient interventions could be confounding the improvement in scores. Qualitative responses indicated that the film served as both an educational tool and as a catalyst for personal reflection. Support systems and communication themes were prevalent in the responses.Responses also indicated a desire for more diverse representation in the film. There may be value in developing a film more customized for our population, and could be part of our future directions and overall goal to continue to improve this pilot study Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of facilitated discussion following viewing the film, which is evident in participants' responses and willingness to share their thoughts. Film interventions have various impacts depending on a person's background and experience associated with the presenting problem. This paper serves as a snapshot of our continuous quality improvement project.