One goal of the study, which was recently published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, was to help better characterize patient populations at risk of suicide.
While frequent past-year emergency department (ED) visits are a recognized risk factor for suicide, this study further aimed to quantify ED visit timing among suicide decedents by past-year ED use, and help characterize differences between suicide decedents and other types of patient populations utilizing the ED.
Among the study’s findings:
- From 2019 to 2020; 670 of 2,883 suicide decedents linked to an ED visit associated with their suicide.
- One third of linked suicide decedents had utilized an ED during the previous year, with 21% being frequent users (4+ visits).
- Within 30 days of their last nonfatal visit, only 28% of frequent utilizers remained alive (compared to 65% of infrequent ED patients).
Among the study’s conclusions were the findings that suicide decedents who visited the ED at least once, and those who were frequent utilizers, were distinct from the overall population of ED patients and those with other mental and behavioral health conditions with regard to demographic and visit-level characteristics. For example, suicide decedents who were frequent ED utilizers had a higher prevalence of Medicaid users, while infrequent utilizers saw more decedents with private insurance.
The findings are particularly important because characterizing ED utilization among higher risk populations may provide important insights regarding how to interrupt, as well as treat, suicidal behavior.
The recent research was a collaborative effort between the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center and the UNC Department of Emergency Medicine. Doctoral candidate Lucas Neuroth in the Gillings Department of Epidemiology, is first author, and Drs. Waller and Harmon are each affiliated with both IPRC and UNC EM. Dr. Danielle Brathwaite is affiliated with UNC Emergency Medicine as well as the Duke Department of Psychiatry.
We invite you to learn more and access the study here.