Medical Chart Review to Explore Suicidal and Self-Harm Thoughts and Behavior Among Psychiatric Inpatients

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Public Health
• Criminology

Background:

• Elevated rates of suicide and self-harm are a significant concern within psychiatric inpatient settings.
• Understanding the prevalence and contributing factors of these events is crucial for improving patient care and safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the prevalence and identify correlates of non-fatal suicide and self-harm events in a psychiatric inpatient population.
• To compare the occurrence of these events between civil and forensic psychiatric patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective collection of health data from 183 psychiatric inpatients (civil and forensic) in Saskatchewan, Canada.
• Analysis of medical records for lifetime and recent occurrences of self-harm and suicidal thoughts or behaviors.
• Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were employed.

Main Results:

• 62% of patients had a recorded history of non-fatal suicide or self-harm events.
• Lifetime prevalence included self-harm (42%) and suicidal behavior (37%).
• Recent occurrences included self-harm (24%) and suicidal thoughts/behaviors (31%).
• Forensic patients demonstrated a significantly higher likelihood of recorded suicide and self-harm events compared to civil patients.

Conclusions:

• Suicide and self-harm events are highly prevalent in psychiatric inpatients.
• Forensic status is associated with an increased risk of suicide and self-harm.
• Further research is warranted to understand the trajectory of suicidality and self-harm in this population.