Suicide Mortality of Emergency Department Patients

<p><strong>Purpose </strong>The purpose of this retrospective comparative study is to describe relationships among biological, psychological, sociocultural factors and emergency department (ED) care among discharged ED patients and describe the association of these variables with subsequent suicide mortality.</p> <p><strong>Rationale </strong>Identifying patients who are most at risk of suicide mortality post ED discharge can focus resources, refine interventions, and prevent suicide. Additionally, recognizing patterns of ED care including ordering of a psychiatric evaluation and disposition status can provide data for potential practice changes.</p> <p><strong>Background </strong>Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and has been since 2008. Suicide is preventable if those at risk are identified and provided with timely interventions. Many victims of suicide have interactions with healthcare providers in the year prior to suicide making the ED a critical setting for the detection of suicidal ideation and suicide prevention.</p> <p><strong>Method </strong>This retrospective comparative study matched data from patient cases treated in one of four EDs of an integrated healthcare system from March 1, 2015 to March 31, 2019 with San Diego County Medical Examiner’s suicide data from March 1, 2015 to March 31, 2020.</p> <p><strong>Findings </strong>The incidence of suicide was 33 per 100,000 and 67.8% of suicide mortality occurred within 1 year of ED discharge. In this study, the majority of cases were White, non-Hispanic/non-Latino, English speaking males in their late 40s with 3 or more ED visits, without a suicide-related primary diagnosis and reported residence in the East County.</p> <p><strong>Implications for Research </strong>The rate of suicide has remained static for decades despite community outreach programs and implementation of suicide screening in the ED. It is imperative to understand the relationships biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors and ED care have on suicide mortality in high-risk patients.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD Nursing

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation: Open Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Nursing

Year dc:date.available

2021

Author dc:creator

• DuBose, Briony Marie, MHI, RN, LSS, BB

• suicide risk assessment
• suicide mortality
• emergency department
• Other Nursing

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/197

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digital.sandiego.edu:dissertations-1199