Suicide Prevention Training Initiative: The ASQ Tool

The IHS Division of Behavioral Health and the National Institutes of Mental Health/National Institutes of Health (NIH) have partnered to promote and implement universal suicide screening in IHS emergency departments using the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) tool.

The ASQ screen is a set of four questions that takes approximately 20 seconds to administer.

A National Institute of Mental Health study found that a "yes" response to one or more of the four questions identified 97 percent of youth (ages 10 to 21 years) at risk for suicide. By initiating early identification and assessment of youth and adults at risk for suicide, the ASQ screen can play a key role in suicide prevention.

Watch the recorded webinar: The ASQ Tool: Screening for Suicide Risk in Healthcare Settings Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov .

Watch the IHS and NIMH National Meet and Greet: ASQ Quality Improvement Pilot Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  recorded event.

The National Institutes of Mental Health also provides a free ASQ Toolkit Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  as a resource for medical settings (emergency department, inpatient medical/surgical units, outpatient clinics/primary care) that can help nurses or physicians successfully identify youth at risk for suicide.