Suicide and deliberate self-harm

Author(s):  
Paul Harrison ◽  
Philip Cowen ◽  
Tom Burns ◽  
Mina Fazel

‘Suicide and deliberate self-harm’ are important aspects of psychiatry. Suicide is among the 10 leading causes of death in most countries for which information is available and is the second most common cause of death in young people. This chapter outlines the epidemiology and methods employed for suicide, with attention to its variation across different cultures and over time. It presents the schemes for the assessment of suicide and policies for its prevention. Deliberate self-harm overlaps with suicide but is different in several important aspects, which are described, along with the range of strategies for managing deliberate self-harm as experienced in the hospital setting.

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 114-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia Morgan ◽  
Sinead Byrne ◽  
Carole Boylan ◽  
Stephen McLearie ◽  
Carol Fitzpatrick

AbstractObjectives: Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is the strongest predictor of suicidal behaviour. This retrospective study reviewed all DSH presentations to our Paediatric Emergency Department between 2002-2006.Method: Using database and medical records we profiled these presentations. Data was coded and statistically analysed.Results: There were 253 DSH attendances. Twenty-four percent were living in care, 15% were under 12 years and 14% presented more than once. Overdoses (61%) were more common than cutting (16%) and 56% had a psychiatric condition.Conclusions: DSH presents an ongoing challenge to child and adolescent mental health services and those working in suicide prevention. Identifying the characteristics of these young people is essential to providing appropriate treatment for this high-risk group.


2001 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret J Tobin ◽  
Adam R Clarke ◽  
Richard Buss ◽  
Stewart L Einfeld ◽  
John Beard ◽  
...  

Repeat Deliberate Self Harm is a recognised risk factor for completed suicide and therefore reduction by effective healthservice response represents a valid contribution to suicide prevention. However, only a small fraction of people withdeliberate self harm presentations to general health settings actually reach specialist mental health follow-upappointments. Therefore, even if responses at that point are known to be effective they do not make a significantcontribution to reducing repeat self-harm overall. We describe health system organisational change strategies to improvehealth service engagement for the target group, and present data demonstrating the effectiveness of these strategies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 771-777
Author(s):  
Maria Pekkola ◽  
Minna Tikkanen ◽  
Mikko Loukovaara ◽  
Jouko Lohi ◽  
Jorma Paavonen ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundStillbirth often remains unexplained, mostly due to a lack of any postmortem examination or one that is incomplete and misinterpreted.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Helsinki University Hospital, Finland, and comprised 214 antepartum singleton stillbirths from 2003 to 2015. Maternal and fetal characteristics and the results of the systematic postmortem examination protocol were collected from medical records. Causes of death were divided into 10 specific categories. Re-evaluation of the postmortem examination results followed.ResultsBased on our systematic protocol, the cause of death was originally defined and reported as such to parents in 133 (62.1%) cases. Re-evaluation of the postmortem examination results revealed the cause of death in an additional 43 (20.1%) cases, with only 23 (10.7%) cases remaining truly unexplained. The most common cause of stillbirth was placental insufficiency in 56 (26.2%) cases. A higher proportion of stillbirths that occurred at ≥39 gestational weeks remained unexplained compared to those that occurred earlier (24.1% vs. 8.6%) (P = 0.02).ConclusionA standardized postmortem examination and a re-evaluation of the results reduced the rate of unexplained stillbirth. Better knowledge of causes of death may have a major impact on the follow-up and outcome of subsequent pregnancies. Also, closer examination and better interpretation of postmortem findings is time-consuming but well worth the effort in order to provide better counseling for the grieving parents.


2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. McManus ◽  
D. Gunnell

Abstract There are concerns about high levels of mental ill-health amongst university students, but little is known about the mental health of students compared to non-students over time. Using data on young people (16–24) from three UK National Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys (2000, 2007, and 2014), we found no evidence that the overall prevalence of common mental disorder (CMD), suicide attempts, or non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH) differed between students and non-students, although there was an indication that CMDs rose markedly in female students between 2007 and 2014. A rise in NSSH is apparent in both students and non-students.


2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Olfson ◽  
Marc J. Gameroff ◽  
Steven C. Marcus ◽  
Ted Greenberg ◽  
David Shaffer

2004 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stewart Einfeld ◽  
Margaret Tobin ◽  
John Beard ◽  
Elizabeth Evans ◽  
Richard Buss ◽  
...  

Stewart Einfeld is at the School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales; the late Margaret Tobin was the Director of Mental Health, South Australia; John Beard is Head of the Northern Rivers University Department of Rural Health, University of Sydney; Elizabeth Evans is a Research Assistant at the School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales; Richard Buss is the Area Manager, Northern Rivers Area Mental Health Service; Michael Dudley is a child psychiatrist at Prince of Wales Hospital and the School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales.This report is dedicated to our late co-author Margaret Tobin, to honour her contribution to advancing the quality of mental health services.Objective: In 1998 and 1999, two NSW Area Health Services conducted the Youth At Risk of Deliberate Self Harm (YARDS) project. The YARDS project was designed to implement evidence-based service enhancements for the clinical management of young people with Deliberate Self Harm. This paper examines the extent to which service enhancements implemented during YARDS were maintained 4 years after the conclusion of the project and compares service quality with another NSW Area Health Service that did not participate in the YARDS project.Method: Staff from mental health services and emergency departments completed the Service Activity Scale, a measure developed for the YARDS project to assess the quality of health service response to individuals who present following a suicide attempt.Results: Results indicated that the service improvements made during the YARDS project were maintained 4years after the project ended. Furthermore, a significant difference was found between scores for services that participated in YARDS and services that did not participate in YARDS.Conclusions: These results suggest that projects such as YARDS which support evidence based service nhancements may be useful in improving the management of young people with deliberate self-harm, and that these improvements may be long-lasting.


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