Machine learning approach for the development of a crucial tool in suicide prevention: The Suicide Crisis Inventory-2 (SCI-2) Short Form.

The Suicide Crisis Syndrome (SCS) describes a suicidal mental state marked by entrapment, affective disturbance, loss of cognitive control, hyperarousal, and social withdrawal that has predictive capacity for near-term suicidal behavior. The Suicide Crisis Inventory-2 (SCI-2), a reliable clinical tool that assesses SCS, lacks a short form for use in clinical settings which we sought to address with statistical analysis. To address this need, a community sample of 10,357 participants responded to an anonymous survey after which predictive performance for suicidal ideation (SI) and SI with preparatory behavior (SI-P) was measured using logistic regression, random forest, and gradient boosting algorithms. Four-fold cross-validation was used to split the dataset in 1,000 iterations. We compared rankings to the SCI-Short Form to inform the short form of the SCI-2. Logistic regression performed best in every analysis. The SI results were used to build the SCI-2-Short Form (SCI-2-SF) utilizing the two top ranking items from each SCS criterion. SHAP analysis of the SCI-2 resulted in meaningful rankings of its items. The SCI-2-SF, derived from these rankings, will be tested for predictive validity and utility in future studies.

Assessing the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of graduating medical students towards sexual health in Lebanon.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of graduating medical students in Lebanon regarding sexual health, as well as their readiness to learn about it, and to determine the demographic and educational factors that influence our findings. METHODS: Cross-sectional study. A self-designed questionnaire exploring various components of sexual health was sent to 578 graduating medical students in Lebanon. Knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were computed and analyzed. RESULTS: The overall mean knowledge score was relatively low (2.61, range -13 to 10). A statistically significant difference was found in the mean knowledge score across religion (P = 0.028) and religiosity (P < 0.001) categories. The mean practice score also differed significantly across income groups (P = 0.010). No other significant associations were found between gender, sexuality, environment, primary source of sexual health education, or language and the mean knowledge, attitude, and practice scores. CONCLUSION: Additional standardized assessment of medical students' competences in sexual health matters through diverse research models is needed. Re-examination of existing medical curricula and inclusion of more extensive sexual health education is necessary to improve patient care.

Stigma Towards Mental Illness at an Academic Tertiary Care Center in Lebanon.

OBJECTIVE: Individuals with mental illness may fall victim to stigma. In this cross-sectional study, the authors aimed to explore correlates of stigma towards mental health in a Lebanese private university and its associated tertiary medical center. METHODS: The authors surveyed students, staff, and faculty at the American University of Beirut and its associated medical center. They assessed stigmatizing behaviors via the Reported and Intended Behavior Scale (RIBS), perceived stigma via the Perceived Devaluation and Discrimination Scale (PDDS), and attitudes towards collaborating with mental health professionals via the Doctors' Attitudes toward Collaborative Care for Mental Health (DACC-MH). RESULTS: A total of 270 participants (response rate of 18%) provided their responses. The mean scores on the RIBS and PDDS were 15.26 ± 4.75 and 32.25 ± 2.70, respectively. Participants who had higher scores on RIBS were more likely to be younger than 25 years of age (OR=1.869; p=0.026), to have a history of mental illness (OR=2.657; p=0.003), and to interact with individuals with a psychiatric disorder (OR=2.287; p=0.028). CONCLUSIONS: Results show a mixed pattern of stigmatizing behaviors and perceptions towards mental illness. This highlights the need for mental health awareness campaigns and interventions in the country.

Suicide during COVID-19 and other major international respiratory outbreaks: A systematic review.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was recently declared a pandemic by the WHO. This outbreak threatens not only physical health but also has significant repercussions on mental health. In recent world history, major infectious outbreaks were associated with severe mental health sequelae, including suicide. In this study, we systematically review the literature on suicidal outcomes during major international respiratory outbreaks, including COVID-19. We reviewed descriptive and analytic articles addressing suicide during major international respiratory outbreaks. We searched PubMed, Medline, Embase, Scopus, and PsycInfo databases and then utilized an independent method for study selection by a pair of reviewers. Two reviewers completed data abstraction and conducted a narrative summary of the findings. Our search generated 2,153 articles. Nine studies (three descriptive, five analytical, and one with mixed methodology) were eligible. The included studies were heterogeneous, divergent in methods, and with a low degree of evidence. Deducing an association between pandemics, suicide, and suicide-related outcomes remains thus poorly supported. Future research with better methodological characteristics, the use of longitudinal studies, and a focus on suicide as the primary outcome would allow for an in-depth understanding and formulation of the scope of this problem.