Objectives: To evaluate a suicide prevention training workshop for staff working in the field of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to develop new measures for evaluation of similar training in the future.
Design: A prospective controlled pre- and posttest evaluation with a 6-month follow-up.
Subjects: Multidisciplinary TBI rehabilitation and disability staff from the state of Victoria attending the workshop (n=50) and an equivalent control group (n=28) recruited from New South Wales.
Setting: A statewide training workshop was held at a major rehabilitation center in Melbourne.
Outcome measures: Three designed measures including an objective knowledge test, a self-assessment inventory of knowledge/skills and an attitudinal inventory.
Results: Participants recorded statistically significant increases in their scores comparing the pre- to postworkshop evaluations. Many of these gains were maintained at the 6-month follow-up evaluation. In contrast, the control group had scores equivalent to those of workshop participants on the pretest evaluations but recorded no similar increase at follow-up. Factor analysis found that the knowledge and skills self-assessment inventory had 2 factors, each having good internal reliability.
Conclusion: The current workshop has proved effective in increasing staff knowledge and skills in the assessment and management of people with TBI exhibiting suicidal behaviors. Finally, the initial development of a knowledge and skills self-assessment measure shows promise, providing a resource for the ongoing evaluation of suicide prevention training in the TBI field.