The prevalence of previous self-harm amongst self-poisoning patients in Sri Lanka.
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol
; 46(6): 517-20, 2011 Jun.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20372876
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
One of the most important components of suicide prevention strategies is to target people who repeat self-harm as they are a high risk group. However, there is some evidence that the incidence of repeat self-harm is lower in Asia than in the West. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of previous self-harm among a consecutive series of self-harm patients presenting to hospitals in rural Sri Lanka.METHOD:
Six hundred and ninety-eight self-poisoning patients presenting to medical wards at two hospitals in Sri Lanka were interviewed about their previous episodes of self-harm.RESULTS:
Sixty-one (8.7%, 95% CI 6.7-11%) patients reported at least one previous episode of self-harm [37 (10.7%) male, 24 (6.8%) female]; only 19 (2.7%, 95% CI 1.6-4.2%) patients had made more than one previous attempt.CONCLUSION:
The low prevalence of previous self-harm is consistent with previous Asian research and is considerably lower than that seen in the West. Explanations for these low levels of repeat self-harm require investigation. Our data indicate that a focus on the aftercare of those who attempt suicide in Sri Lanka may have a smaller impact on suicide incidence than may be possible in the West.
Texto completo:
1
Bases de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Intoxicação
/
Comportamento Autodestrutivo
Tipo de estudo:
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol
Assunto da revista:
CIENCIAS SOCIAIS
/
EPIDEMIOLOGIA
/
PSIQUIATRIA
Ano de publicação:
2011
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Sri Lanka