Patterns of suicide and self-harm in Pakistan: a retrospective descriptive study protocol

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Forensic Medicine

Background:

• Suicide presents a significant global public health challenge, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries.
• Pakistan lacks comprehensive national suicide statistics, with underutilization of medicolegal reports as a key information source.
• Medicolegal centers (MLCs) in Pakistan hold valuable, yet largely untapped, data on suicides and self-harm incidents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To retrospectively analyze patterns of suicide and self-harm among patients registered at Karachi's medicolegal centers.
• To investigate the utility of medicolegal data for understanding suicide and self-harm trends in Pakistan.
• To provide data-driven insights for public health interventions and policy development.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective descriptive study design.
• Data extraction from medical records of all nine Karachi medicolegal centers (MLCs).
• Utilizing a structured proforma for data collection and employing descriptive and inferential statistical analysis.

Main Results:

• Data collection focused on cases registered between January 2017 and December 2021.
• Analysis aimed to identify trends, demographics, and characteristics of suicide and self-harm cases.
• Findings will be detailed in the full study report.

Conclusions:

• Medicolegal reports offer a crucial, underutilized resource for suicide and self-harm surveillance in Pakistan.
• Understanding these patterns is vital for developing targeted prevention strategies.
• Dissemination of findings will inform healthcare professionals, policymakers, and stakeholders.