Emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians’ views on EMS-delivered interventions to promote secure firearm storage practices

Introduction Lethal means safety counseling (LMSC) to promote secure firearm storage may reduce the risk of firearm-involved deaths, including suicide. We examined if emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians, including emergency medical technicians and paramedics, may be suitable LMSC messengers. Method We conducted a web-based survey of 229 US EMS clinicians. Results While few EMS clinicians […]

Emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians’ views on EMS-delivered interventions to promote secure firearm storage practices

Introduction Lethal means safety counseling (LMSC) to promote secure firearm storage may reduce the risk of firearm-involved deaths, including suicide. We examined if emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians, including emergency medical technicians and paramedics, may be suitable LMSC messengers. Method We conducted a web-based survey of 229 US EMS clinicians. Results While few EMS clinicians […]

Exploring emergency department workers’ attitudes towards individuals with suicide attempts: A cross sectional study

Introductıon: This study aims to determine the attitudes of emergency service workers toward patients attempting suicide (PAS) and the factors influencing these attitudes. Methods: A total of 122 voluntary emergency service workers employed in a city hospital participated in the research. Data were collected using the “Attitude scale towards attemnpted suicide cases for evaluating emergency […]

Epidemiology of suicide in the relief missions in the pre-hospital emergency system of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences during 2019-2021

Background: Mazandaran Province is one of the provinces with a high suicide rate. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the epidemiology of relief missions following suicide in the prehospital emergency system of  Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted from September 2019 to 2021 in the pre-hospital emergency department […]

An analysis of suicides among first responders: Findings from the National Violent Death Reporting System, 2015–2017

Introduction: First responders, including law enforcement officers (LEOs), firefighters, emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians, and public safety telecommunicators, face unique occupational stressors and may be at elevated risk for suicide. This study characterized suicides among first responders and identifies potential opportunities for additional data collection. Methods: Using suicides identified from the three most recent years of National […]

Alcohol and repeated deliberate self-harm: Preliminary results of the French cohort study of risk for repeated incomplete suicides

Background: Repeated episode(s) of deliberate self-harm (RDSH) is a major risk factor for suicide. Aims: To identify specific risk factors for RDSH among patients admitted following an episode of deliberate self-harm (DSH) through acute intoxication. Methods: A prospective 6-month study was conducted with 184 patients (71% female) admitted to the emergency room (ER) as a result of self-poisoning […]

The role of suicide risk in the decision for psychiatric hospitalization after a suicide attempt

Background: Suicide prevention can be improved by knowing which variables physicians take into account when considering hospitalization or discharge of patients who have attempted suicide. Aims: To test whether suicide risk is an adequate explanatory variable for predicting admission to a psychiatric unit after a suicide attempt. Methods: Analyses of 840 clinical records of patients who had attempted […]

Ambulance clinicians’ responsibility when encountering patients in a suicidal process

Background Even though the traditional focus in emergency care is on life-threatening medical crisis, ambulance clinicians frequently encounter patients with mental illness, including suicidal ideation. A suicide is preceded by a complex process where most of the suicidal ideation is invisible to others. However, as most patients seek healthcare in the year before suicide, ambulance […]

Suicide attempts by adolescents assisted in an emergency department: A cross-sectional study

Objectives: to identify and characterize the care provided to adolescents admitted to an emergency department due to a suicide attempt. Methods: an observational, cross sectional, descriptive study with a retrospective approach, carried out with medical records of adolescents aged 10 to 19 admitted for suicide attempts, between January 2015 and July 2020, in an emergency […]

Prediction of suicide attempts and suicide-related events among adolescents seen in emergency departments

Objective  To compare the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) instrument with the Computerized Adaptive Screen for Suicidal Youth (CASSY) instrument for the prediction of suicidal behavior among adolescents seen in EDs, across demographic and clinical strata. Design, Setting, and Participants  The Emergency Department Study for Teens at Risk for Suicide is a prospective, random-series, multicenter cohort study that […]

Time series analysis of the suicide attempts assisted by firefighters from 2017 to 2021 in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the time trends of suicide attempts assisted by the Fire Department of the Military Police of the State of São Paulo (Corpo de Bombeiros da Polícia Militar do Estado de São Paulo —  CBPMESP) from 2017 to 2021, between sexes. Methods: This is an ecological study of 11,435 suicide […]

Factors affecting emergency medical utilization after self-harm ad effectiveness of community-based suicide prevention provisions in preventing self-harm: A nationwide registry-based study in Korea

In order to formulate and implement a community-based suicide prevention program, as well as evaluate the effectiveness of these programs, it is necessary to understand the epidemiological characteristics of self-harm. Clinical data were collected from the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS) data panel in Korea for patients seen after self-harm episodes. Socioeconomic factors were […]

The attitudes of emergency service workers towards attempted suicide cases and its relation to burnout and job satisfaction

Emergency healthcare is the first sight of intervention for suicide attempts. Therefore, the attitudes of emergency health personnel towards suicidal tendencies are of great importance. The aims of this study are; to determine the attitudes and behaviors of emergency service workers towards attempted suicide cases, which are frequently encountered in emergency services, and to determine […]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent social restrictions on ambulance calls for suicidal and nonsuicidal self-harm: A population-based study in Osaka prefecture, Japan

Aim Self-harm is a common ambulance call and is potentially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the incidence of ambulance transport due to self-harm increased in 2020. Methods We undertook a population-based observational study using a database from the Osaka prefectural government. Ambulance transport of patients due […]

Mental disorder symptom among public safety personnel in Canada

Background: Canadian public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers) are exposed to potentially traumatic events as a function of their work. Such exposures contribute to the risk of developing clinically significant symptoms related to mental disorders. The current study was designed to provide estimates of mental disorder symptom frequencies and […]

Examining the use of police and ambulance data in suicide research: A systematic scoping review of data linkage studies

Background: Police and paramedics are often the first to respond to individuals in suicide crisis and have an important role to play in facilitating optimal care pathways. Yet, little evidence exists to inform these responses. Data linkage provides one approach to examining this knowledge gap. Aim: We identified studies that examined suicide behaviors and linked to police or […]

Mental health service use, suicide behavior, and emergency department visits among rural US veterans who received video-enabled tablets during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective  To evaluate the association between the escalated distribution of the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA’s) video-enabled tablets during the COVID-19 pandemic and rural veterans’ mental health service use and suicide-related outcomes. Design, Setting, and Participants  This retrospective cohort study included rural veterans who had at least 1 VA mental health care visit in calendar year […]

Demographics of mental healthcare presentations in a northwest Ontario emergency department

Objectives Providing emergency mental health services for populations in remote rural areas of Canada is challenging. Program needs are distinct. We describe the emergency mental health workload and service needs at the Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre (SLMHC) in northwest Ontario. Methods Emergency department (ED) data were collected for mental health, addiction and […]

Mental health service use before and after a suicidal crisis among children and adolescents in a United States national Medicaid sample

Introduction: Mental health follow-up after an emergency department (ED) visit for suicide ideation/attempt is a critical component of suicide prevention for young people. Methods: We analyzed 2009 to 2012 Medicaid Analytic EXtract for 62,139 treat-and-release ED visits and 30,312 ED-to-hospital admissions for suicide ideation/attempt among patients ages 6 to 17 years. We used mixed-effects logistic regression models […]

Childhood adversity, suicidality, and non-suicidal self-injury among children and adolescents admitted to emergency departments

Purpose: This population-based study explored the associations between childhood adversity and admission to emergency departments (EDs) with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and with a suicide attempt. Methods: A nationally representative cross-sectional sample of 5-17-year-olds admitted to EDs (N = 143,113,677) from 2006 to 2015 was utilized to assess the associations between childhood adversities, NSSIs, and suicide attempts. Results: ED […]

Emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts among persons aged 12-25 years before and during the COVID-19 pandemic United States: January 2019-May 2021

Summary What is already known about this topic? During 2020, the proportion of mental health–related emergency department (ED) visits among adolescents aged 12–17 years increased 31% compared with that during 2019. What is added by this report? In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ED visits for suspected suicide attempts began to increase among adolescents […]

Alcohol dependence and heavy episodic drinking are associated with different levels of risk or death or repeat emergency service attendance

Background Alcohol use is a multidimensional risk factor for suicidal behaviour. However, suicide prevention strategies often take ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches to alcohol use, reflecting an evidence base built on unidimensional measures. Latent Class Analysis can use a range of measures to differentiate distinct patterns of alcohol using behaviour and their associated risks. Methods We analysed Electronic […]

Suicide as a hidden contributor to the opioid crisis and the role that primary care and emergency medicine play in addressing it

Deaths from overdose have risen dramatically over the past decade, driven mainly by opioids. In response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidance on safe prescribing, safe storage of medications, Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), and the use of Naloxone to reverse an overdose. Even with this guidance, overdose deaths continue to rise. Suicide prevention […]