The Healer Education Assessment and Referral, or HEAR, suicide prevention program has been used to improve physician well-being for about a decade. Researchers conducted a pilot of the HEAR program geared specifically toward nurses, beginning in 2016.
The program emphasizes education to decrease stigma related to mental health treatment; group debriefings after significant patient care events; proactive risk screening; counseling; and referral to treatment.
Researchers from University of California San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Health conducted the study over three years.
During the study period, 527 nurses took advantage of the screening portion of the program. Of these nurses, 48 percent were determined to be at high risk of emotional distress.
Nine percent of the nurses said they thought about taking their own lives, and 9.7 percent had attempted suicide.
Via the program, 176 nurses received support from therapists, and 98 accepted referral for treatment.
The number of group debriefs after patient care events rose from eight in 2016 to 38 in fiscal year 2019.
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