Collaboration Between General Hospitals and Community Health Services in the Care of Suicide Attempters in Norway: a Longitudinal Study

Collaboration between emergency departments in general hospitals & community health services in Norway when providing psychosocial care & aftercare to suicide attempt patients treated in emergency departments was studied. Data were collected through structured interviews with informants from 95% of all general hospitals in 1999 & 2006, & informants from a stratified sample of municipalities in 2006. A discriminant function analysis revealed that hospitals that in 1999 had a collaboration agreement with aftercare providers & written guidlines were significantly more likely to have municipalities with a chain of care structure in their catchment area in 2006. Hospitals’ & municipalities’ self-reported provision of aftercare services for patients treated after a suicide attempt was markedly below recommendations given in national standards. (33 refs.) (JA