Suicide assessment and management initiative (SAM): evaluating the implementation and uptake of suicide prevention activities in a healthcare setting.

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among Canadian men and women from adolescence to middle age and is strongly associated with mental illness. BC Mental Health and Addiction Services has developed Suicide Assessment and Management (SAM) Guidelines to identify safety risks within its client populations. Rigourous evaluation of the SAM Guidelines Initiative is essential to determine the impact of the intervention. This paper describes the literature review and logic model for the SAM Guidelines. Evaluation frameworks are discussed and the literature related to suicide prevention in healthcare settings is reviewed to inform the development of the program logic model. Stakeholder engagement and organizational context were identified as key considerations in the evaluation process.