Non-suicidal and Suicidal Self-harm at a Psychiatric Centre: A review of cases

Abstract

Background Previous self-harm has been reported as an important risk factor for future attempts and death by suicide, therefore understanding the psychosocial characteristics of people with a history of self-harm may help in developing models for reduction of suicide. The objective of this study was to present the psychosocial characteristics of patients who presented with self-harm and recorded them in our suicidality register. Method This is a review of the suicidality register of patients who presented with deliberate self-harm and were referred and reviewed by the psychiatric unit at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKUSTH). Data were retrieved from the register and enter in SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics such as mean with standard deviation and frequency were done to describe the characteristics of interest. Results Of the 33 cases reviewed, the majority were females 51.6%, aged 29years and below, single (67.7%), unemployed 17 (51.5%), and had depression as the primary psychiatry diagnosis (54.5%). Although multiple reasons were given for self-harm, the desire to die was the commonest (54.5%) while ingestion of poisons was the commonest (75.8%) method adopted. Conclusion Previous self-harm is an important risk factor for future attempts and death by suicide, understanding the psychosocial characteristics of people with a history of self-harm may help in developing frameworks for a surveillance system for self-harm and attempted suicides.