Reporting Ethical Procedures in Suicide Prevention Research: Current Status and Recommendations

Abstract

Objective

Ethical concerns frequently arise in suicide prevention research regarding participant safety and confidentiality. Despite a substantial literature on managing and navigating ethical concerns in suicide research, little attention has been paid to the reporting of ethical procedures. Furthermore, standard procedures for reporting ethical risk management procedures have not been developed.

Method

A review of the current literature was performed to examine the current state of reporting of ethical procedures within suicide research. Articles published in 2020 (N = 263) from three suicide-focused publications were screened and then coded (n = 131) to identify reporting of procedures for the ethical conduct of research and suicide risk management steps taken by the research teams.

Results

The majority of articles reported ethical review or approval (84.7%) and reported the use of an informed consent process (77.9%). Only 28.2% included risk mitigation procedures. Of those 29.7% of those articles reported conducting risk evaluation, 66.7% reported resource dissemination, and 51.4% reported an intervention.

Conclusion

As empirical support for brief interventions accrues, suicide prevention researchers should consider establishing standards for the reporting of procedures to ensure the safety of participants with suicidal risk.

Highlights

• Reporting suicide safety protocols helps ensure high ethical standards in research.

• Fewer than 1/3 of articles reviewed reported risk mitigation procedures in 2020.

• Standard procedures for reporting safety protocols in suicide research are needed.

Keywords:

• Suicide
• research ethics
• risk management

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ryan M. Hill

Ryan M. Hill, PhD, Zain Hussain, BA, Blake Vieyra, BA, and Alexis Gallagher, BA, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.

Zain Hussain

Ryan M. Hill, PhD, Zain Hussain, BA, Blake Vieyra, BA, and Alexis Gallagher, BA, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.

Blake Vieyra

Ryan M. Hill, PhD, Zain Hussain, BA, Blake Vieyra, BA, and Alexis Gallagher, BA, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.

Alexis Gallagher

Ryan M. Hill, PhD, Zain Hussain, BA, Blake Vieyra, BA, and Alexis Gallagher, BA, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.