Pilot Study Method
The pilot study involved 21 mental health nurses
and community mental health nurses from two purposively
selected mental health institutions in The Netherlands:
one located in a large city, and the other in
a rural area of the country. After approval from the
institutions’ medical and ethical review boards was
obtained, nurses from eight inpatient and outpatient
units self-selected to participate in the pilot study. The
average experience of the nurses with suicidal patients
was 11.2 years (SD = 7.2 years).
During two half-day sessions, participating nurses
from both institutions were trained to use the guideline.
Subsequently, they used the guideline to conduct
SAs and develop suicide intervention plans for
patients from their caseloads, during a period of 5
months. The completed SAs and intervention plans
were collected. Group interviews with the nurses were
conducted twice at both locations: halfway a