Citation

Kopacz MS, Kane CP, Stephens B, Pigeon WR. Psychiatr. Serv. 2016; 67(7): 807-810.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

10.1176/appi.ps.201500302

PMID

26876664

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the demographic, diagnostic, and service characteristics of veterans who received services for "other psychological or physical stress, not elsewhere classified" (ICD-9-CM V62.89) in the month following a suicide attempt.

METHODS: An electronic search of a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) suicide event reporting system identified 22,701 veterans who were survivors of a suicide attempt. Their clinical service encounter records were extracted from a VHA administrative database to identify those who received services related to V62.89.

RESULTS: Services related to V62.89 were provided to N=2,173 (9.6%) of the sample. Chaplains were the predominant service provider, identified in N=1,745 (80%) of the service encounters. Differences were noted between those who received services related to V62.89 from a chaplain or from another service provider.

CONCLUSIONS: V62.89 appears to be a focus of clinical concern for some veteran suicide attempt survivors. Additional research is needed to better understand any implications for suicide "postvention."

Language: en