Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
2-24-2026
First Advisor
Lisa Drake
Second Advisor
Chandra Carter
Abstract
The outpatient mental health clinics across the United States lack consistent suicide risk assessment methods. This project developed standardized procedures which used Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) assessment together with provider education and electronic health record systems to evaluate how these elements impacted provider self-efficacy and their ability to record screening results. The project used a pre-post design to examine (n=24) psychiatric providers at an urban outpatient clinic through the combined methods of Lewin's Change Theory and the Plan-Do-Study-Act framework. The General Self-Efficacy Scale measured provider self-efficacy, and structured EHR audits tracked documentation rates pre- and post-implementation over six weeks. The results showed a statistically significant increase in provider self-efficacy because the average scores moved from 28.8 to 33.0 (t (23) = 25.4, p < .001, Cohen's d = 1.72). The implementation results showed an increase in documentation rates from 42% at baseline to 86% after implementation (χ² = 476.93, p < .001). The project developed standardized procedures for handling high-risk clinical situations which resulted in stronger patient safety measures. The DNP implementation model presented here offers nursing professionals a practical method to implement evidence-based suicide prevention methods that will yield positive mental health results through continuous adoption of these practices.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Ebietomiye, Kemisola, "Implementation of a Standardized Suicide Risk Screening Protocol Using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) in an Outpatient Mental Health Clinic" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 289.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/289
