Background: No valid and reliable instrument exists to assess knowledge, skills, experience and attitudes pertaining to suicide prevention (SP) among healthcare professionals (HCPs) in training....Show moreBackground: No valid and reliable instrument exists to assess knowledge, skills, experience and attitudes pertaining to suicide prevention (SP) among healthcare professionals (HCPs) in training. Aim: This study intended to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Suicide Prevention Skills Inventory (SPSI). Methods: A literature review identified seven subscales and 76 items for the SPSI. Using a cross-sectional design, data was collected in a sample of Dutch undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate healthcare students (N = 439), partaking in the online survey. An Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed on the continuous scales; inter-item, item-total and Pearson correlations were calculated for the binary scales. Cronbach’s alphas were calculated for all subscales and the overall instrument. Results: A four subscale solution (Provider Competencies, Moral Attitude, Experience Making Contact and Personal Interest in SP Skills Training) with 35 items showed the most optimal fit, with items loading >.40 on factors and good inter-item and item-total correlations. Reliability for the individual subscales and total scale ranges from good to excellent (α = .72-.90). Due to poor reliability the subscale Factual Knowledge was excluded. Discussion: The four subscale SPSI shows a stable latent structure and good reliability. However, validity of the instrument is only confirmed once results have been replicated in a new and representative sample. Future applications of the SPSI include the assessment of learning effects among HCPs in training and provide insight into the level of SP expertise of graduated HCPs starting their career in the clinical fieldShow less
