Reductions in Postdischarge Suicide After Deinstitutionalization and Decentralization: a Nationwide Register Study in Finland

This study analyzed trends in suicide occurring after a psychiatric hospitalization during more than a decade of significant structural changes in mental health services in Finland. Data were collected for 1985-1991 & 1995-2001. In both periods, a fifth of suicide victims had been psychiatrically hospitalized within the preceding year. The restructuring & downsizing of mental health services was not associated with any increase in suicides one week or one year postdischarge. Instead, the risk of these suicide decreased significantly between the two time periods among several diagnostic categories. There is still a substantial need for better recognition of suicidal risk among psychiatric patients. (26 refs.)