Date of Conferral
8-6-2026
Date of Award
August 2026
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
School
Nursing
Advisor
Donna Bailey
Abstract
Suicide remains a leading cause of preventable death among individuals receiving psychiatric care, emphasizing the need for consistent suicide risk assessment practices in outpatient behavioral health settings. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project addressed inconsistent suicide risk screening and documentation by implementing a standardized evidence-based suicide risk assessment protocol in an outpatient psychiatric clinic. Guided by the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Model, the project incorporated staff education, workflow standardization, leadership support, and stakeholder engagement to improve provider adherence to organizational policy requiring suicide risk screening during every patient encounter. Deidentified retrospective chart audits conducted before and after implementation were used to evaluate suicide screening completion, documentation compliance, and appropriate follow-up interventions. Results demonstrated substantial improvements across all outcome measures, with screening completion increasing from 62% to 89%, documentation compliance from 58% to 85%, and appropriate follow-up interventions from 65% to 90%. These findings support existing evidence that standardized suicide risk assessment protocols improve provider compliance, enhance documentation consistency, strengthen patient safety, and promote earlier identification of individuals at risk for suicide. Continued education, leadership support, and routine performance monitoring are expected to sustain improvements and further strengthen organizational adherence to evidence-based suicide prevention practices. This project demonstrates the important role of DNP-prepared nurses in leading evidence-based organizational change initiatives that improve quality of care, patient safety, and clinical outcomes in outpatient psychiatric settings.
Recommended Citation
Zaccardo, Dawn Marie, "Organization Change Process Initiative Suicide Risk Assessment Screening Implementation" (2026). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 20569.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/20569
