The purpose of the study was to determine if QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) gatekeeper training for nurse anesthesia residents can improve self-reported knowledge, competency, and self-efficacy to intervene with suicidal individuals.
Methods:
In 2016, an IRB-approved research study was undertaken to gather follow up assessment data related to QPR gatekeeper training and participants’ knowledge, competency, and self-efficacy toward suicide prevention. All first year (3rd semester) nurse anesthesia residents (n=64) who completed QPR gatekeeper training in August 2016 were invited to participate in the study consisting of a pre-training survey, an immediate post-training survey, and a follow up post-training survey given at six-month and nine-month intervals. All surveys were accessed through a link to an online survey via Qualtrics. The QPR Pre-training Survey and QPR Post-training Surveys were adapted with permission from similar gatekeeper evaluation studies frequently cited in the literature (Tompkins & Witt, 2010; Wyman et al., 2008). Preliminary data analysis has been completed using descriptive statistics. Data files are being merged to allow case-by-case analysis with the Friedman test through SPSS.
Results:
Of the 64 nurse anesthesia residents receiving QPR gatekeeper training in August 2016, 34 (53.1%) completed the pre-training survey, 53 (82.8%) completed the immediate post-training survey, 37 (57.8%) completed the six-month follow up survey, and 33 (51.6%) completed the nine-month follow up survey.
Improvements in mean aggregate scores of statements related to knowledge, competency, and self-efficacy toward suicide prevention occurred following QPR training. The greatest improvement occurred between the pre-training survey and the immediate post-training survey, with exception of “intervene,” which had highest mean aggregate scores at nine months. Mean aggregate scores declined from the immediate post-training survey to the six-month and nine-month follow up surveys, although responses never returned to pre-training survey levels, and few responses to the follow up surveys suggested that participants strongly disagreed or disagreed that they had knowledge, competency, or self-efficacy to intervene with a suicidal person.
Conclusion:
Preliminary data analysis suggests that QPR gatekeeper training results in improvements of knowledge, competency, and self-efficacy toward suicide prevention, with a decay of the improvement over time. Our findings support educating residents in QPR gatekeeper training.