Incidence and method of suicide in hospitals in the United States

BACKGROUND:

There are no reliable estimates of hospital inpatient suicides in the United States. Understanding the rate and the methods used in suicides is important to guide prevention efforts. This study analyzed two national data sets to establish an evidence-based estimate of hospital inpatient suicides and the methods used.

METHODS:

The study is designed as a cross-sectional analysis of data from 27 states reporting to the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) for 2014-2015, and from hospitals reporting to The Joint Commission’s Sentinel Event (SE) Database from 2010 to 2017. Categorical variables and qualitative reviews of event narratives were used to identify and code suicide events occurring during hospital inpatient treatment.

RESULTS:

Based on the hospital inpatient suicides reported in the NVDRS during 2014-2015, 73.9% of which occurred during psychiatric treatment, it is estimated that between 48.5 and 64.9 hospital inpatient suicides occur per year in the United States. Of these, 31.0 to 51.7 are expected to involve psychiatric inpatients. Hanging was the most common method of inpatient suicide in both the NVDRS and SE databases (71.7% and 70.3%, respectively).

CONCLUSION:

The estimated number of hospital inpatient suicides per year in the United States ranges from 48.5 to 64.9, which is far below the widely cited figure of 1,500 per year. Analysis of inpatient suicide methods suggests that hospital prevention efforts should be primarily focused on mitigating risks associated with hanging, and additional suicide prevention efforts may be best directed toward reducing the risk of suicide immediately following discharge.