Self-Harm Thoughts and Behaviour: A Review of Health Records of Adults Receiving Psychiatric Inpatient Services in Canada
With the high incidence of suicide and self-harm events among psychiatric inpatients, especially forensic patients, a focus on suicide and self-harm thoughts and behaviours represents a top priority for prevention and treatment in psychiatric settings.
By Dr. Bryce Stoliker,* Temilola Balogun, Haile Wangler, & Dr. Lisa JewellSuicide and self-harm events are elevated in psychiatric inpatient populations. In this study, health data were retrospectively collected from the medical records of 183 patients (97 civil and 86 forensic) who had resided in, or been admitted to, a public psychiatric hospital in Saskatchewan, Canada from April 1 to December 31, 2021. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted to estimate prevalence and correlates of (non-fatal) suicide and self-harm events, including recent and lifetime occurrences, according to patients’ health information. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of patients had any record of non-fatal suicide or self-harm events, including a lifetime history of self-harm (42%) and suicidal behavior (37%) as well as recent self-harm (24%) and suicidal (31%) thoughts or behaviors. Forensic patients were significantly more likely to have a record of suicide and self-harm events. This study emphasizes the need for further research into the course of suicidality and self-harm in psychiatric inpatients.
