Years of life lost due to deaths of despair and COVID-19 in the United States in 2020: patterns of excess mortality by gender, race and ethnicity.

BACKGROUND: In 2020 COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States. Increases in suicides, overdoses, and alcohol related deaths were seen-which make up deaths of despair. How deaths of despair compare to COVID-19 across racial, ethnic, and gender subpopulations is relatively unknown. Preliminary studies showed inequalities in COVID-19 mortality for Black and Hispanic Americans in the pandemic's onset. This study analyzes the racial, ethnic and gender disparities in years of life lost due to COVID-19 and deaths of despair (suicide, overdose, and alcohol deaths) in 2020. METHODS: This cross-sectional study calculated and compared years of life lost (YLL) due to Deaths of Despair and COVID-19 by gender, race, and ethnicity. YLL was calculated using the CDC WONDER database to pull death records based on ICD-10 codes and the Social Security Administration Period Life Table was used to get estimated life expectancy for each subpopulation. RESULTS: In 2020, COVID-19 caused 350,831 deaths and 4,405,699 YLL. By contrast, deaths of despair contributed to 178,598 deaths and 6,045,819 YLL. Men had more deaths and YLL than women due to COVID-19 and deaths of despair. Among White Americans and more than one race identification both had greater burden of deaths of despair YLL than COVID-19 YLL. However, for all other racial categories (Native American/Alaskan Native, Asian, Black/African American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander) COVID-19 caused more YLL than deaths of despair. Also, Hispanic or Latino persons had disproportionately higher mortality across all causes: COVID-19 and all deaths of despair causes. CONCLUSIONS: This study found greater deaths of despair mortality burden and differences in burden across gender, race, and ethnicity in 2020. The results indicate the need to bolster behavioral health research, support mental health workforce development and education, increase access to evidence-based substance use treatment, and address systemic inequities and social determinants of deaths of despair and COVID-19.

Factors Associated With Calling 911 for an Overdose: An Ethnographic Decision Tree Modeling Approach.

Objectives. To identify factors that influence when people who use drugs (PWUDs) call 911 for an overdose. Methods. We conducted 45 qualitative interviews and 180 surveys with PWUDs who had recently witnessed overdoses in Southern California from 2017 to 2019. We used conditional inference tree and random forest models to generate and validate a model to predict whether 911 would be called. Results. Our model had good in- (83%) and out-of-sample (84%) predictive accuracy. Three aspects of the social and policy environment influenced calling 911 for an overdose: the effectiveness of response strategies employed, the behavior of other bystanders, and whether the responder believes it is their responsibility to call. Conclusions. Even in the presence of policies that provide some protections, PWUDs are faced with difficult decisions about calling 911 and must weigh their own safety against that of an overdose victim. Potential interventions include strengthening training and safety planning for PWUDs, bolstering protections for PWUDs when they call 911, and separating law enforcement response from emergency medical response to overdoses.

Socioeconomic marginalization and opioid-related overdose: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic marginalization (SEM) is an important but under-explored determinant of opioid overdose with important implications for health equity and associated public policy initiatives. This systematic review synthesizes evidence on the role of SEM in both fatal and non-fatal overdose among people who use opioids. METHODS: Studies published between January 1, 2000 and March 31, 2018 were identified through searching electronic databases, citations, and by contacting experts. The titles, abstracts, citation information, and descriptor terms of citations were screened by two team members. Data were synthesized using the lumping technique. RESULTS: A total of 37 studies met inclusion criteria and were included in the review, with 34 of 37 finding a significant association between at least one socioeconomic factor and overdose. The included studies contained variables related to eight socioeconomic factors: criminal justice system involvement, income, employment, social support, health insurance, housing/homelessness, education, and composite measures of socio-economic status. Most studies found associations in the hypothesized direction, whereby increased SEM was associated with a higher rate or increased likelihood of the overdose outcome measured. The review revealed an underdeveloped evidence base. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly all reviewed studies found a connection between a socioeconomic variable and overdose, but more research is needed with an explicit focus on SEM, using robust and nuanced measures that capture multiple dimensions of disadvantage, and collect data over time to better inform decision making around opioid overdose.

Defining a recovery-oriented cascade of care for opioid use disorder: A community-driven, statewide cross-sectional assessment.

BACKGROUND: In light of the accelerating and rapidly evolving overdose crisis in the United States (US), new strategies are needed to address the epidemic and to efficiently engage and retain individuals in care for opioid use disorder (OUD). Moreover, there is an increasing need for novel approaches to using health data to identify gaps in the cascade of care for persons with OUD. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Between June 2018 and May 2019, we engaged a diverse stakeholder group (including directors of statewide health and social service agencies) to develop a statewide, patient-centered cascade of care for OUD for Rhode Island, a small state in New England, a region highly impacted by the opioid crisis. Through an iterative process, we modified the cascade of care defined by Williams et al. for use in Rhode Island using key national survey data and statewide health claims datasets to create a cross-sectional summary of 5 stages in the cascade. Approximately 47,000 Rhode Islanders (5.2%) were estimated to be at risk for OUD (stage 0) in 2016. At the same time, 26,000 Rhode Islanders had a medical claim related to an OUD diagnosis, accounting for 55% of the population at risk (stage 1); 27% of the stage 0 population, 12,700 people, showed evidence of initiation of medication for OUD (MOUD, stage 2), and 18%, or 8,300 people, had evidence of retention on MOUD (stage 3). Imputation from a national survey estimated that 4,200 Rhode Islanders were in recovery from OUD as of 2016, representing 9% of the total population at risk. Limitations included use of self-report data to arrive at estimates of the number of individuals at risk for OUD and using a national estimate to identify the number of individuals in recovery due to a lack of available state data sources. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that cross-sectional summaries of the cascade of care for OUD can be used as a health policy tool to identify gaps in care, inform data-driven policy decisions, set benchmarks for quality, and improve health outcomes for persons with OUD. There exists a significant opportunity to increase engagement prior to the initiation of OUD treatment (i.e., identification of OUD symptoms via routine screening or acute presentation) and improve retention and remission from OUD symptoms through improved community-supported processes of recovery. To do this more precisely, states should work to systematically collect data to populate their own cascade of care as a health policy tool to enhance system-level interventions and maximize engagement in care.

Relative toxicity of mood stabilisers and antipsychotics: case fatality and fatal toxicity associated with self-poisoning.

BACKGROUND: Bipolar and other psychiatric disorders are associated with considerably increased risk of suicidal behaviour, which may include self-poisoning with medication used to treat the disorder. Therefore, choice of medication for treatment should include consideration of toxicity, especially for patients at risk. The aim of this study was to estimate the relative toxicity of specific drugs within two drug categories, antipsychotics and mood stabilizers, using large-scale databases to provide evidence that could assist clinicians in making decisions about prescribing, especially for patients at risk of suicidal behaviour. METHOD: Two indices were used to assess relative toxicity of mood stabilisers and antipsychotics: case fatality (the ratio between rates of fatal and non-fatal self-poisoning) and fatal toxicity (the ratio between rates of fatal self-poisoning and prescription). Mood stabilisers assessed included lithium [reference], sodium valproate, carbamazepine, and lamotrigine, while antipsychotics included chlorpromazine [reference], clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine and risperidone. Fatal self-poisoning (suicide) data were provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), non-fatal self-poisoning data by the Multicentre Study of Self-harm in England, and information on prescriptions by the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. The primary analysis focussed on deaths due to a single drug. Cases where the drug of interest was listed as the likely primary toxic agent in multiple drug overdoses were also analysed. The study period was 2005-2012. RESULTS: There appeared to be little difference in toxicity between the mood stabilisers, except that based on case fatality where multiple drug poisonings were considered, carbamazepine was over twice as likely to result in death relative to lithium (OR 2.37 95% CI 1.16-4.85). Of the antipsychotics, clozapine was approximately18 times more likely to result in death when taken in overdose than chlorpromazine (single drug case fatality: OR 18.53 95% CI 8.69-39.52). Otherwise, only risperidone differed from chlorpromazine, being less toxic (OR 0.06 95% CI 0.01-0.47). CONCLUSIONS: There was little difference in toxicity of the individual mood stabilisers. Clozapine was far more toxic than the other antipsychotics. The findings are relevant to prescribing policy, especially for patients at particular risk of suicidal behaviour.

Cost-effectiveness of naloxone kits in secondary schools.

BACKGROUND: We seek to identify conditions under which a plan by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) to equip high schools with naloxone kits would be cost-effective. METHODS: We developed a decision-analytic model to evaluate the costs, benefits, and cost-effectiveness of a school-based naloxone program. We estimated model inputs from the medical literature and used Toronto-specific sources whenever available. We present our results varying both the expected total number of opioid overdoses per year across all 112 TDSB high schools and the effectiveness of a school-based naloxone program in reducing mortality. RESULTS: A school naloxone program likely costs less than CAD$50,000 per quality-adjusted life-year gained if the overdose frequency is at least once each year and it reduces opioid poisoning mortality by at least 40% (from 10% to <6.0%) or if the overdose frequency is at least two per year and the program reduces mortality by at least 20% (from 10% to <8.0%). The results are sensitive to the intensity and cost of staff training, the lifetime costs and life-expectancy of overdose survivors, and the probability of an overdose being fatal in the absence of a school naloxone program. CONCLUSIONS: School naloxone programs are relatively inexpensive, but that does not ensure that they are a cost-effective use of resources. While potentially cost-effective, if the risk of an overdose in a Toronto high school is low, then other programs aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of students may be better use of limited resources.

Assessment of barrier severity and willingness to enter opioid agonist treatment among people who inject drugs in Ukraine.

BACKGROUND: Opioid agonist therapies (OAT) in Ukraine were first introduced in 2004 not as addiction treatment, but for HIV prevention. Numerous obstacles have thwarted OAT scale-up, including individual constraints and structural barriers. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 1613 opioid dependent people who inject drugs (PWID) were recruited in 2014-2015 using stratified sampling in Kyiv, Odesa, Mykolayiv, Dnipro and Lviv. Analysis was restricted to a subset of 811 PWID who never received OAT. Barriers to OAT were assessed based on reasons why study participants were reluctant to enroll into OAT. A Rasch model from the Item Response Theory was applied to 24 potential barriers, used to score their severity and estimate a latent composite measure for each person's willingness and ability to participate in OAT. RESULTS: The Rasch model confirmed the cumulative nature of barriers with concerns over treatment efficacy, safety and tolerability being more prevalent than barriers related to logistical constraints, opportunity costs and social stigma. If barriers related to treatment perception and logistics were eliminated, the average barrier number would decrease from 10 to 2.2. Participants were more likely to have a higher resistance to OAT entry if they experienced fewer overdoses, did not attain higher education, were not previously incarcerated and if their peers did not have a higher level of resistance to OAT. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the interdependence of various barriers and attitudes toward OAT can improve the rate of OAT expansion and ameliorate entry into substance abuse treatment programs in Ukraine.

The relationship between drug use settings, roles in the drug economy, and witnessing a drug overdose in Baltimore, Maryland.

BACKGROUND: There has been a dramatic increase in drug overdose deaths in the United States. In the current study, the authors examined factors associated with witnessing a drug overdose. METHODS: A sample of 450 substance users in Baltimore, Maryland, were recruited for a behavioral intervention and were administered a survey. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to compare participants who never witnessed a drug overdose with those who witnessed one in the prior 6 months and those who witnessed an overdose over 6 months ago. RESULTS: Most (58%) participants were male, 40% experienced homelessness in the prior 6 months, 63% reported a history of heroin injecting, 84% had snorted heroin, 75% reported witnessing a drug overdose, and 38% experienced an overdose. In multinomial logistic regression models, witnessing an overdose in the past 6 months was associated with number of different types of places where drugs were used (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.34), history of experiencing an overdose (aOR = 1.80), injecting heroin and/or speedball (aOR = 1.78), and snorting heroin (aOR = 1.54). Witnessing an overdose more than 6 months ago was associated with number of different places where drugs were used (aOR = 1.25), history of experiencing an overdose (aOR = 1.61), snorting heroin (aOR = 1.42), and injecting heroin or speedball (aOR = 1.47). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that people who engage in more public and frequent drug use, and hence are more likely to witness an overdose, should be targeted for interventions to prevent and treat drug overdose.

Identifying mortality risks in patients with opioid use disorder using brief screening assessment: Secondary mental health clinical records analysis.

BACKGROUND: Risk assessments are widely used, but their ability to predict outcomes in opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment remains unclear. Therefore, the aim was to investigate if addiction-specific brief risk screening is effective in identifying high mortality risk groups and if subsequent clinical actions following risk assessment impacts on mortality levels. METHODS: Opioid use disorder (OUD) patients were identified in the South London and Maudsley Case Register. Deaths were identified through database linkage to the national mortality dataset. Cox and competing-risk regression were used to model associations between brief risk assessment domains and all-cause and overdose mortality in 4488 OUD patients, with up-to 6-year follow-up time where 227 deaths were registered. Data were stratified by admission to general mental health services. RESULTS: All-cause mortality was significantly associated with unsafe injecting (HR 1.53, 95% CI 1.10-2.11) and clinically appraised likelihood of accidental overdose (HR 1.48, 95% CI 1.00-2.19). Overdose-mortality was significantly associated with unsafe injecting (SHR 2.52, 95% CI 1.11-5.70) and clinically appraised suicidality (SHR 2.89, 95% CI 1.38-6.03). Suicidality was associated with a twofold increase in mortality risk among OUD patients who were not admitted to mental health services within 2 months of their risk assessment (HR 2.03, 95% CI 1.67-3.24). CONCLUSIONS: Diagnosis-specific brief risk screening can identify OUD patient subgroups at increased risk of all-cause and overdose mortality. OUD patients, where suicidality is evident, who are not admitted into services are particularly vulnerable.

"There's nothing here": Deindustrialization as risk environment for overdose.

BACKGROUND: Applying the "risk environment" approach proposed by Rhodes (2002, 2009), this study considers the diverse contextual factors contributing to drug overdose in a deindustrialized region of the United States. The Monongahela Valley of Pennsylvania, once a global center of steel production, has suffered a mass exodus of jobs, residents, and businesses since a national manufacturing crisis erupted in the early 1980s; more recently, it has seen a dramatic uptick in accidental drug poisoning deaths. Where recent local and national media attention to overdose has focused on suburban areas and middle class victims, this study concentrates instead on the deteriorating mill city of McKeesport, Pennsylvania. METHODS: Eighteen clients of the city's sole drug treatment facility participated in in-depth interviews concerning their direct experience with accidental overdose. Specifically, participants were asked to describe their own most recent overdose event and/or the last overdose they had personally witnessed. They were also asked to speculate upon the roots of the local overdose epidemic, while venturing possible remedies. RESULTS: In relating their overdose experiences, participants characterized a micro-level risk environment that was hidden behind closed doors, and populated by unprepared, ambivalent overdose "assistants." Tasked with explaining a geographic concentration of overdose in and around McKeesport, interviewees referenced the hopelessness of the area and its lack of opportunity as driving the use of heroin, with many explicitly suggesting the need for jobs and community reinvestment to reduce fatalities. CONCLUSION: While state and county efforts to ameliorate overdose mortality have focused upon creating an open market in naloxone, this study suggests the need for interventions that address the poverty and social isolation of opiate users in the post-industrial periphery.

Heroin-related overdose: The unexplored influences of markets, marketing and source-types in the United States.

Heroin overdose, more accurately termed 'heroin-related overdose' due to the frequent involvement of other drugs, is the leading cause of mortality among regular heroin users. (Degenhardt et al., 2010) Heroin injectors are at greater risk of hospital admission for heroin-related overdose (HOD) in the eastern United States where Colombian-sourced powder heroin is sold than in the western US where black 'tar' heroin predominates. (Unick et al., 2014) This paper examines under-researched influences on HOD, both fatal and non-fatal, using data from a qualitative study of injecting drug users of black tar heroin in San Francisco and powder heroin in Philadelphia Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews carried out in 2012 that were conducted against a background of longer-term participant-observation, ethnographic studies of drug users and dealers in Philadelphia (2007-12) and of users in San Francisco (1994-2007, 2012). Our findings suggest three types of previously unconsidered influences on overdose risk that arise both from structural socio-economic factors and from the physical properties of the heroin source-types: 1) retail market structure including information flow between users; 2) marketing techniques such as branding, free samples and pricing and 3) differences in the physical characteristics of the two major heroin source forms and how they affect injecting techniques and vascular health. Although chosen for their contrasting source-forms, we found that the two cities have contrasting dominant models of drug retailing: San Francisco respondents tended to buy through private dealers and Philadelphia respondents frequented an open-air street market where heroin is branded and free samples are distributed, although each city included both types of drug sales. These market structures and marketing techniques shape the availability of information regarding heroin potency and its dissemination among users who tend to seek out the strongest heroin available on a given day. The physical characteristics of these two source-types, the way they are prepared for injecting and their effects on vein health also differ markedly. The purpose of this paper is to examine some of the unexplored factors that may lead to heroin-related overdose in the United States and to generate hypotheses for further study.

A retrospective descriptive study of the characteristics of deliberate self-poisoning patients with single or repeat presentations to an Australian emergency medicine network in a one year period.

BACKGROUND: A proportion of deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) patients present repeatedly to the emergency department (ED). Understanding the characteristics of frequent DSP patients and their presentation is a first step to implementing interventions that are designed to prevent repeated self-poisoning. METHODS: All DSP presentations to three networked Australian ED's were retrospectively identified from the ED electronic medical record and hospital scanned medical records for 2011. Demographics, types of drugs ingested, emergency department length of stay and disposition for the repeat DSP presenters were extracted and compared to those who presented once with DSP in a one year period. Logistic regression was used to analyse repeat versus single DSP data. RESULTS: The study determined 755 single presenters and 93 repeat DSP presenters. The repeat presenters contributed to 321 DSP presentations. They were more likely to be unemployed (61.0% versus 39.9%, p = 0.008) and have a psychiatric illness compared to single presenters (36.6% versus 15.5%, p < 0.001). Repeat presenters were less likely to receive a toxicology consultation (11.5% versus 27.3%, p < 0.001) and were more likely to abscond from the ED (7.5% versus 3.4%, p = 0.004). Repeat presenters were more likely to ingest paracetamol and antipsychotics than single presenters. The defined daily dose for the most common antipsychotic ingested, quetiapine, was less in the repeat presenter group (median 1.9 [IQR: 1.3-3.5]) compared with the single presenter group (4 [1.4-9.5]), (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.74-0.99). CONCLUSION: Patients who present repeatedly to the ED with DSP have pre-existing disadvantages, with increased likelihood of being unemployed and having a mental illness. These patients are also more likely to have health service inequities given the greater likelihood to abscond from the ED and lower likelihood of receiving toxicology consultation for their DSP. Early recognition of repeat DSP patients in the ED may facilitate the development of individualised care plans with the aim to reduce repeat episodes of self-poisoning and subsequent risk of successful suicide.

The epidemiology and management of adult poisonings admitted to the short-stay ward of a large Scottish emergency department.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The emergency department of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary receives around 68,000 new adult admissions annually. All poisoning cases are admitted to a 14-bedded short-stay ward, except those admitted to intensive care or immediately discharged. This study aimed to analyse epidemiological trends and management of short-stay ward admissions for poisonings. METHOD AND RESULTS: Adult (>13 years) poisoning presentations admitted to the emergency department short-stay ward of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary from 1 January-31 December 2009 were retrospectively reviewed using patient discharge summaries. During 2009, there were 1062 poisoning cases, of which repeat episodes were responsible for 15%. The mean age of presentation was 33.9 years (SD 14.4) and there was a female preponderance (62%). Almost half of poisonings were polypharmacy, alcohol was involved in 40% of cases and overdoses most commonly involved paracetamol (43%). Management involved basic observations only (66%), N-acetylcysteine (24%), naloxone (4%) and activated charcoal (1%). Liaison psychiatry reviewed 84% presentations and admitted 9% to the psychiatric unit. CONCLUSIONS: The short-stay ward is important for acute management of poisonings and the data gained from this study should help to direct patient services appropriately.

Hospitalizations for suicide-related drug poisonings and co-occurring alcohol overdoses in adolescents (ages 12-17) and young adults (ages 18-24) in the United States, 1999-2008: results from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample.

Drug poisoning is the leading method of suicide-related deaths among females and third among males in the United States. Alcohol can increase the severity of drug poisonings, yet the prevalence of alcohol overdoses in suicide-related drug poisonings (SRDP) remains unclear. Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample was examined to determine rates of inpatient hospital stays for SRDP and co-occurring alcohol overdoses in adolescents (ages 12-17) and young adults (ages 18-24) between 1999 and 2008. Among adolescents, there were 14,615 hospitalizations for drug poisonings in 2008, of which 72% (10,462) were suicide-related at a cost of $43 million. Rates of SRDP in this age group decreased between 1999 and 2008. The prevalence of co-occurring alcohol overdoses increased from 5% in 1999 to 7% in 2008. Among young adults, there were 32,471 hospitalizations for drug poisonings in 2008, of which 64% (20,746) were suicide-related at a cost of $110 million. Rates of SRDP did not change significantly between 1999 and 2008. The prevalence of co-occurring alcohol overdoses increased from 14% in 1999 to 20% in 2008. Thus, while rates of SRDP decreased for adolescents and remained unchanged for young adults, the prevalence of co-occurring alcohol overdoses increased for both age groups. Such hospitalizations provide important opportunities to employ intervention techniques to prevent further suicide attempts.

Assessment of self harm in an accident and emergency service - the development of a proforma to assess suicide intent and mental state in those presenting to the emergency department with self harm.

INTRODUCTION: the UK has one of the highest rates of self harm in Europe, around 400 per 100,000 people (Horrocks et al. 2002). It accounts for 150,000 attendances to the Emergency department each year and is one of the top five causes of acute medical admissions in the UK (NICE 2002). AIMS: objectives included to explore the method of self harm and the demographic factors of those presenting the Emergency department with self harm. In addition we wanted to review the exploration of suicide risk factors and suicide intent by the Emergency department doctor and ascertain whether a psychiatric assessment with full mental state examination had been conducted with referral to psychiatric services if deemed necessary. We wanted to explore the current practice around self harm presentations in the Emergency department accordance with NICE guidelines. METHODS: data was collected retrospectively from February to August 2009. Twenty-five sets of medical notes were collated at random for patients who had presented with self harm to the Emergency department. Notes were reviewed for evidence of exploration of the event, psychiatric assessment, risk factors for suicide and further referral. RESULTS: 14 of the 25 patients presented having taken an overdose. 9 had inflicted some other form of self injury, namely lacerations to self. In 2 cases a mixed presentation was found. Previous psychiatric history was documented in 16 cases. 11 had a previous history of depression or anxiety disorder; 1 was known to have bipolar affective disorder; 1 was diagnosed in the past with borderline personality disorder; and 3 patients had no previous history. In 9 cases previous history was not documented. DISCUSSION: twenty-five sets of medical notes were reviewed from February to August 2009 for individuals presenting to the Emergency department with self harm. Of those, 12 fell into the over 25 age group. 17 were female and 8 were male. The majority of patients were of white British ethnicity. 14 had taken an overdose; 9 had inflicted some other form of self injury; and 2 had a mixed presentation. Suicide risk factors and suicidal intent was poorly documented with mental state examination found not to be documented in all 25 cases reviewed. 18 were deemed medically fit in the Emergency department and were referred for psychiatric review. These unfortunate findings may be a reflection on the time pressures faced by Emergency department doctors, namely the four hour targets, and perhaps lack of adequate training in psychosocial risk assessment. With such poor documentation made by the Emergency department doctors, a proforma was produced which incorporates suicide risk factors and assessment of suicide intent in addition to a brief version of the mental state examination. CONCLUSION: concerns have been raised by the recent Royal College of Psychiatrists report on self harm, that current level of care provided to service users fall short of the standards set out in policies and guidelines, with poor assessments, unskilled staff and insufficient care pathways (Royal College of Psychiatrists. Report CR 158. 2010). Indeed evidence suggest that appropriate training and intervention given to A&E staff can lead to improvements in the quality of psychosocial assessment of patients with deliberate self harm (Crawford et al. 1998).

The clinical assessment of patients admitted to hospital following an episode of self-harm: a qualitative study.

Based upon qualitative interviews with clinicians responsible for assessing patients admitted to hospital following an episode of self-harm by overdose, this paper documents interactional factors that shape both how clinicians conduct these assessments and their understanding of what 'causes' someone to harm themselves. The analysis first documents how the patients' overdoses are framed as essentially impulsive acts committed in response to adverse circumstances. This is achieved by clinicians' avoidance of any engagement with, or assessment of, a patient's reasons for taking an overdose. Secondly, the analysis considers why the patients' reasons for taking an overdose do not feature in the clinicians' assessments, and shows, by an examination of two deviant cases, that clinicians avoid engaging with patients' motivations so as to: minimise the risk of generating bedside disagreements; avoid the possibility of being drawn into the emotional life of a patient, and shield themselves from the social and economic inequalities that are a feature of many patients' lives. The paper concludes with a discussion of how bedside assessments that do not engage with patients' reasons for taking an overdose might be experienced by the patients themselves and the deleterious effect this could have upon their clinical management.