Q/A Session Sept 2024: How has the understanding of risk status evolved within the SafeSide Framework?
Question: How has the understanding of risk status evolved within the SafeSide Framework?
Answer: Initially, risk status was understood as describing a person’s risk relative to a particular population (Pisani et al., 2016).
This concept of “population” led to some confusion. While some found this language useful, it created challenges for others, as it brought to mind epidemiological terminology. This caused some clinicians to doubt their ability to assess risk if they didn’t know the suicide rates for a particular group, and others felt uncertain about defining a specific population.
Based on feedback and testing different wording over several months, risk status in the SafeSide Framework was updated to "risk relative to others in a given setting (current or being considered)." This reduces questions about defining a comparison group and zeros in on person-specific factors and situations to guide planning and decisions about supports and care. (See Pisani et al., 2022 for full chapter).
RELATED RESOURCE: