Demographic predictors of emergency service utilization patterns in youth at risk of suicide.

OBJECTIVE: To explore demographic predictors of Emergency Department (ED) utilization among youth with a history of suicidality (i.e., ideation or behaviors). METHODS: Electronic health records were extracted from 2017 to 2021 for 3094 8-22 year-old patients with a history of suicidality at an urban academic medical center ED in the Mid-Atlantic. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess for demographic predictors of ED utilization frequency, timing of subsequent visits, and reasons for subsequent visits over a 24-month follow-up period. RESULTS: Black race (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.11-1.92), Female sex (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.26-2.03), and having Medicaid insurance (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.37-2.14) were associated with increased utilization, while being under 18 was associated with lower utilization (<12: OR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.26-0.56; 12-18: OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.35-0.63). These demographics were also associated with ED readmission within 90 days, while being under 18 was associated with a lower odds of readmission. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with a history of suicidality, those who identify as Black, young adults, patients with Medicaid, and female patients were more likely to be frequent utilizers of the ED within the 2 years following their initial visit. This pattern may suggest inadequate health care access for these groups, and a need to develop better care coordination with an intersectional focus to facilitate utilization of other health services.

Assessment of Selective and Universal Screening for Suicide Risk in a Pediatric Emergency Department.

Importance: According to National Patient Safety Goal 15.01.01, all individuals being treated or evaluated for behavioral health conditions as their primary reason for care in hospitals and behavioral health care organizations accredited by The Joint Commission should be screened for suicide risk using a validated tool. Existing suicide risk screens have minimal or no high-quality evidence of association with future suicide-related outcomes. Objective: To test the association between results of the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) instrument in a pediatric emergency department (ED), implemented through selective and universal screening approaches, and subsequent suicide-related outcomes. Design Setting and Participants: In this retrospective cohort study at an urban pediatric ED in the United States, the ASQ was administered to youths aged 8 to 18 years with behavioral and psychiatric presenting problems from March 18, 2013, to December 31, 2016 (selective condition), and then to youths aged 10 to 18 years with medical presenting problems (in addition to those aged 8-18 years with behavioral and psychiatric presenting problems) from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018 (universal condition). Exposure: Positive ASQ screen at baseline ED visit. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcomes were subsequent ED visits with suicide-related presenting problems (ie, ideation or attempts) based on electronic health records and death by suicide identified through state medical examiner records. Association with suicide-related outcomes was calculated over the entire study period using survival analyses and at 3-month follow-up for both conditions using relative risk. Results: The complete sample was 15003 youths (7044 47.0%] male; 10209 [68.0%] black; mean [SD] age, 14.5 [3.1] years at baseline). The follow-up for the selective condition was a mean (SD) of 1133.7 (433.3) days; for the universal condition, it was 366.2 (209.2) days. In the selective condition, there were 275 suicide-related ED visits and 3 deaths by suicide. In the universal condition, there were 118 suicide-related ED visits and no deaths during the follow-up period. Adjusting for demographic characteristics and baseline presenting problem, positive ASQ screens were associated with greater risk of suicide-related outcomes among both the universal sample (hazard ratio, 6.8 [95% CI, 4.2-11.1]) and the selective sample (hazard ratio, 4.8 [95% CI, 3.5-6.5]). Conclusions and Relevance: Positive results of both selective and universal screening for suicide risk in pediatric EDs appear to be associated with subsequent suicidal behavior. Screening may be a particularly effective way to detect suicide risk among those who did not present with ideation or attempt. Future studies should examine the impact of screening in combination with other policies and procedures aimed at reducing suicide risk.Appeared originally in JAMA Netw Open 2019; 2:e1914070.

Association of State Social and Environmental Factors With Rates of Self-injury Mortality and Suicide in the United States.

Importance: Self-injury mortality (SIM) combines suicides and the preponderance of drug misuse-related overdose fatalities. Identifying social and environmental factors associated with SIM and suicide may inform etiologic understanding and intervention design. Objective: To identify factors associated with interstate SIM and suicide rate variation and to assess potential for differential suicide misclassification. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used a partial panel time series with underlying cause-of-death data from 50 US states and the District of Columbia for 1999-2000, 2007-2008, 2013-2014 and 2018-2019. Applying data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SIM includes all suicides and the preponderance of unintentional and undetermined drug intoxication deaths, reflecting self-harm behaviors. Data were analyzed from February to June 2021. Exposures: Exposures included inequity, isolation, demographic characteristics, injury mechanism, health care access, and medicolegal death investigation system type. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome, SIM, was assessed using unstandardized regression coefficients of interstate variation associations, identified by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator; ratios of crude SIM to suicide rates per 100 000 population were assessed for potential differential suicide misclassification. Results: A total of 101 325 SIMs were identified, including 74 506 (73.5%) among males and 26 819 (26.5%) among females. SIM to suicide rate ratios trended upwards, with an accelerating increase in overdose fatalities classified as unintentional or undetermined (SIM to suicide rate ratio, 1999-2000: 1.39; 95% CI, 1.38-1.41; 2018-2019: 2.12; 95% CI, 2.11-2.14). Eight states recorded a SIM to suicide rate ratio less than 1.50 in 2018-2019 vs 39 states in 1999-2000. Northeastern states concentrated in the highest category (range, 2.10-6.00); only the West remained unrepresented. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator identified 8 factors associated with the SIM rate in 2018-2019: centralized medical examiner system (ß = 4.362), labor underutilization rate (ß = 0.728), manufacturing employment (ß = -0.056), homelessness rate (ß = -0.125), percentage nonreligious (ß = 0.041), non-Hispanic White race and ethnicity (ß = 0.087), prescribed opioids for 30 days or more (ß = 0.117), and percentage without health insurance (ß = -0.013) and 5 factors associated with the suicide rate: percentage male (ß = 1.046), military veteran (ß = 0.747), rural (ß = 0.031), firearm ownership (ß = 0.030), and pain reliever misuse (ß = 1.131). Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that SIM rates were associated with modifiable, upstream factors. Although embedded in SIM, suicide unexpectedly deviated in proposed social and environmental determinants. Heterogeneity in medicolegal death investigation processes and data assurance needs further characterization, with the goal of providing the highest-quality reports for developing and tracking public health policies and practices.

Comparing the predictive value of screening to the use of electronic health record data for detecting future suicidal thoughts and behavior in an urban pediatric emergency department: A preliminary analysis.

AIM: Brief screening and predictive modeling have garnered attention for utility at identifying individuals at risk of suicide. Although previous research has investigated these methods, little is known about how these methods compare against each other or work in combination in the pediatric population. METHODS: Patients were aged 8-18 years old who presented from January 1, 2017, to June 30, 2019, to a Pediatric Emergency Department (PED). All patients were screened with the Ask Suicide Questionnaire (ASQ) as part of a universal screening approach. For all models, we used 5-fold cross-validation. We compared four models: Model 1 only included the ASQ; Model 2 included the ASQ and EHR data gathered at the time of ED visit (EHR data); Model 3 only included EHR data; and Model 4 included EHR data and a single item from the ASQ that asked about a lifetime history of suicide attempt. The main outcome was subsequent PED visit with suicide-related presenting problem within a 3-month follow-up period. RESULTS: Of the N = 13,420 individuals, n = 141 had a subsequent suicide-related PED visit. Approximately 63% identified as Black. Results showed that a model based only on EHR data (Model 3) had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.775 compared to the ASQ alone (Model 1), which had an AUC of 0.754. Combining screening and EHR data (Model 4) resulted in a 17.4% (absolute difference = 3.6%) improvement in sensitivity and 13.4% increase in AUC (absolute difference = 6.6%) compared to screening alone (Model 1). CONCLUSION: Our findings show that predictive modeling based on EHR data is helpful either in the absence or as an addition to brief suicide screening. This is the first study to compare brief suicide screening to EHR-based predictive modeling and adds to our understanding of how best to identify youth at risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in clinical care settings.

Clinical Perspective on Opioids in the Context of Suicide Risk.

Psychiatrists are on the front lines of two simultaneous public health crises: the increasing rates of suicide and opioid-related deaths. In this review, the authors discuss ways in which these two classes of preventable deaths may be linked, with an emphasis on identifying and preventing both outcomes through increased understanding of their shared risk factors. As clinicians, it is crucial to maintain awareness of the ways in which opioid use may contribute to depression and suicidality, as well as how mood disorders may complicate opioid use. In light of this interplay, interventions which target risk factors for both suicide and overdose are key. Interventions include early treatment of substance dependence and depression, as well as harm reduction measures, such as provision of naloxone, medication-assisted treatments for dependency, and multidisciplinary approaches to chronic pain that do not rely solely on escalating opioid doses. It is also important to address social determinants of health, which may increase risk for both accidental and intentional overdose. The roads to overdose and suicide overlap considerably and cannot be considered separately.

Educational achievement and youth homicide mortality: a City-wide, neighborhood-based analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Educational achievement, particularly among youth, may mitigate risk of exposure to violence and negative related health outcomes such as crime and gang activity. Few studies to date have examined relationships between education and youth homicide. The authors hypothesized association between educational achievement in grades 3 and 8 and youth homicide mortality. METHODS: Neighborhood-based, city-wide analysis was conducted of cross-sectional data regarding N = 55 neighborhoods in Baltimore, MD, extracted from Baltimore 2017 Neighborhood Health Profiles. RESULTS: Higher educational achievement (operationalized by reading proficiency) in third, but not eighth, grade was associated with reduced neighborhood youth homicide mortality rates in hierarchical linear regression, controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors (ß = - 0.5082, p = 0.03), such that each 1.97% increase in proportion of students reading at an acceptable level was associated with one fewer neighborhood youth homicide per 100,000. Neighborhoods within the highest tertile of youth homicide mortality differed from those in the lowest tertile with fewer males (45% vs. 48%, p = 0.002), greater unemployment (17% vs. 8%, p < 0.001), familial poverty (35% vs. 16%, p < 0.001), and residents identifying as black or African-American (88% vs. 25%, p < 0.001). Causal mediation analysis demonstrated mediation effects of familial poverty and eighth grade educational achievement through third grade educational achievement (ACME = 0.151, p = 0.04; ACME = - 0.300, p = 0.03, respectively) with no significant direct effects. CONCLUSIONS: Higher educational achievement (operationalized by reading proficiency) predicts reduced homicide mortality among Baltimore youth and appears to mediate effects of familial poverty on homicide mortality as well. This converges with literature highlighting the importance of education as a determinant of social capital and violence. Future policy-based interventions should target inequalities in educational achievement to mitigate homicide risk among youth in communities facing disparities in violent crime.

Assessment of Physician Self-reported Knowledge and Use of Maryland's Extreme Risk Protection Order Law.

Importance: On October 1, 2018, Maryland's extreme risk protection order (ERPO) law took effect. This was the first ERPO law in the United States to authorize clinicians to initiate a civil court process to temporarily prohibit people behaving dangerously and at risk of engaging in violence from purchasing and possessing firearms. This is the first publication reporting results from a survey of physicians about ERPOs. Objectives: To assess Maryland physicians' knowledge, past use, and likely future use of ERPOs, and to identify barriers to physicians' use of ERPOs and strategies to address those barriers. Design, Setting, and Participants: This survey study conducted at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, surveyed physicians, including emergency medicine physicians, pediatricians, and psychiatrists, using a 15-question online instrument between June 15, 2019, and July 1, 2019. Data analysis was performed in July 2019. Exposure: Maryland's ERPO law. Main Outcomes and Measures: Knowledge, use, and likely use of ERPOs, barriers to use, and strategies to address those barriers. Results: Ninety-two of 353 physicians invited (26.1%) completed the survey; 1 respondent reported having filed an ERPO petition. Sixty-six respondents (71.7%) described themselves as not at all familiar with ERPOs. After reading a brief description of the ERPO law, 85 respondents (92.4%) indicated that they encounter patients whom they would consider for an ERPO at least a few times per year. Fifty-five respondents (59.8%) reported that they would be very or somewhat likely to file an ERPO petition when they identify a qualifying patient. Respondents identified time as the main barrier to using ERPOs (not enough time to complete paperwork, 57 respondents [62.6%]; not enough time to attend hearing at courthouse, 64 respondents [70.3%]), followed by concern that filing an ERPO would negatively affect their relationship with the patient (36 respondents [39.6%]). Having a coordinator to manage the process (80 respondents [87.0%]), training (79 respondents [85.9%]), participating in court hearings remotely (68 respondents [73.9%]), and having access to legal counsel (59 respondents [64.1%]) were all selected by large majorities of respondents as strategies to address barriers to ERPO use. Conclusions and Relevance: Awareness of ERPOs among physicians in the sample was low. Physicians are treating patients who would qualify for an ERPO, and respondents in the sample indicated a willingness to use ERPOs. Training, providing access to legal counsel, designating a clinician to process petitions, and allowing clinicians to participate remotely in court hearings were strategies respondents identified to address barriers to ERPO use. These survey findings identify concrete solutions for addressing barriers to physician use of ERPOs.

Assessment of Selective and Universal Screening for Suicide Risk in a Pediatric Emergency Department.

Importance: According to National Patient Safety Goal 15.01.01, all individuals being treated or evaluated for behavioral health conditions as their primary reason for care in hospitals and behavioral health care organizations accredited by The Joint Commission should be screened for suicide risk using a validated tool. Existing suicide risk screens have minimal or no high-quality evidence of association with future suicide-related outcomes. Objective: To test the association between results of the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) instrument in a pediatric emergency department (ED), implemented through selective and universal screening approaches, and subsequent suicide-related outcomes. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this retrospective cohort study at an urban pediatric ED in the United States, the ASQ was administered to youths aged 8 to 18 years with behavioral and psychiatric presenting problems from March 18, 2013, to December 31, 2016 (selective condition), and then to youths aged 10 to 18 years with medical presenting problems (in addition to those aged 8-18 years with behavioral and psychiatric presenting problems) from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018 (universal condition). Exposure: Positive ASQ screen at baseline ED visit. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcomes were subsequent ED visits with suicide-related presenting problems (ie, ideation or attempts) based on electronic health records and death by suicide identified through state medical examiner records. Association with suicide-related outcomes was calculated over the entire study period using survival analyses and at 3-month follow-up for both conditions using relative risk. Results: The complete sample was 15 003 youths (7044 [47.0%] male; 10 209 [68.0%] black; mean [SD] age, 14.5 [3.1] years at baseline). The follow-up for the selective condition was a mean (SD) of 1133.7 (433.3) days; for the universal condition, it was 366.2 (209.2) days. In the selective condition, there were 275 suicide-related ED visits and 3 deaths by suicide. In the universal condition, there were 118 suicide-related ED visits and no deaths during the follow-up period. Adjusting for demographic characteristics and baseline presenting problem, positive ASQ screens were associated with greater risk of suicide-related outcomes among both the universal sample (hazard ratio, 6.8 [95% CI, 4.2-11.1]) and the selective sample (hazard ratio, 4.8 [95% CI, 3.5-6.5]). Conclusions and Relevance: Positive results of both selective and universal screening for suicide risk in pediatric EDs appear to be associated with subsequent suicidal behavior. Screening may be a particularly effective way to detect suicide risk among those who did not present with ideation or attempt. Future studies should examine the impact of screening in combination with other policies and procedures aimed at reducing suicide risk.