TY - JOUR
PY - 2016//
TI - Suicidal ideation and non-fatal deliberate self-harm presentations in the Kimberley from an enhanced police-mental health service notification database
JO - Australasian psychiatry
A1 - McHugh, Cate
A1 - Balaratnasingam, Sivasankaran
A1 - Campbell, Anita
A1 - Chapman, Murray
SP - 35
EP - 39
VL - 25
IS - 1
N2 - OBJECTIVES: To determine the rate of presentations for suicidal ideation and deliberate self-harm in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, characterized in terms of age, gender, rates of repetition and engagement with community mental health services.
METHODS: An observational study of health service presentations over 12 months. SETTING: 10 sites across the region with police services were included, capturing the overwhelming majority of self-harm presentations in the region. PARTICIPANTS: all Indigenous presentations were analyzed. Of the 433 individuals who presented, 361 were Indigenous. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: suicidal phenomena, including suicidal ideation and any type of deliberate self-harm regardless of intent.
RESULTS: Analysis suggests a broadly similar age and sex stratification of self-harm in this population compared with international reports. The rates, however, are 5-20 times higher than those reported in non-Indigenous populations in Australia and abroad, depending on whether the comparison rate is calculated from population surveys or hospital presentations.
CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of suicidal phenomena is very high and is likely to be much higher than estimated by this hospital based study. Such high prevalence suggests that a population level intervention is required in addition to interventions involving clinical services.
© The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2016.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 1039-8562 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1039856216671682 ID - ref1 ER -