Inter‐rater reliability of the German version of the Nurses' Global Assessment of Suicide Risk scale

Abstract

In comparison to the general population, the suicide rates of psychiatric inpatient populations in Germany and Switzerland are very high. An important preventive contribution to the lowering of the suicide rates in mental health care is to ensure that the risk of suicide of psychiatric inpatients is assessed as accurately as possible. While risk-assessment instruments can serve an important function in determining such risk, very few have been translated to German. Therefore, in the present study, we reported on the German version of Nurses' Global Assessment of Suicide Risk (NGASR) scale. After translating the original instrument into German and pretesting the German version, we tested the inter-rater reliability of the instrument. Twelve video case studies were evaluated by 13 raters with the NGASR scale in a 'laboratory' trial. In each case, the observer's agreement was calculated for the single items, the overall scale, the risk levels, and the sum scores. The statistical data analysis was conducted with kappa and AC1 statistics for dichotomous (items, scale) scales. A high-to-very high observers' agreement (AC1: 0.62-1.00, kappa: 0.00-1.00) was determined for 16 items of the German version of the NGASR scale. We conclude that the German version of the NGASR scale is a reliable instrument for evaluating risk factors for suicide. A reliable application in the clinical practise appears to be enhanced by training in the use of the instrument and the right implementation instructions.

Relationship between serum inflammatory cytokines and suicide risk in patients with major depressive disorder

“…We used the Nurses’ Global Assessment of Suicide Risk Scale (NGASR), a reliable tool for assessing suicide risk ( 20 – 22 ), to assess participants’ suicide risk. At present, the Chinese version of NGASR is widely used in psychiatric research ( 23 , 24 ).…”

Effects of sleep quality on suicide risk in COVID-19 patients: The chain mediating of anxiety and depressive symptoms

“…To evaluate suicide risk, we used the Nurses' Global Assessment of Suicide Risk Scale (NGASR), which is a reliable tool for assessing suicide risk, especially for patients with acute psychosis [ [27] , [28] , [29] ]. It includes 15 items, such as feelings of hopelessness, plans to take suicide action a history of attempted suicide, and so on, and each item has two answers: “yes” and “no”, and “no” counts as 0 points, and “yes” counts as 1 or 3 points according to the bonus rule.…”

<p>Quality and utilization of the Finnish clinical practice guideline in schizophrenia: evaluation using AGREE II and the vignette approach</p>

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