Improved Mental Health Support for Patients With Self-Harm Injuries in the Emergency Department: Design and Development of a Future Patient Care Pathway

The successful development of sustainable healthcare solutions necessitates an in-depth understanding of the clinical environment and its potential challenges from the user's perspective. Previous research has identified a lack of care and treatment responsibility for patients presenting to the emergency department due to self-harm injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a user-driven approach and participatory design could be leveraged to propose, design, and develop future solutions to improve the pathways for patients admitted to the ED owing to self-harm injuries. Drawing from the participatory design methodology, six one-on-one workshops were conducted with patients and their family members, alongside two workshops involving 33 participants (health-care professionals and patient representatives) with diverse roles in the patient care pathway. The study resulted in the development of two concepts recommended for clinical testing: (1) an outreach function from mental health services to the emergency department and (2) a joint position between the psychiatric and emergency departments. The study concludes that involving vulnerable patients in research is feasible but requires careful consideration of the methods employed, with potential alternatives necessary to ensure successful outcomes.