EC Psychology And Psychiatry

Research Article Volume 13 Issue 2 - 2024

Suicide Attempts within 7 Days of an Inpatient Mental Health Admission

Peter D Mills1*, Christina Soncrant2, Michael C Palmer2 and Blake Webb2

1VA National Center for Patient Safety, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, United States
2VA National Center for Patient Safety, United States
*Corresponding Author: Peter D Mills, VA National Center for Patient Safety, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, United States.
Received: December 16, 2023; Published: January 24, 2024



Objectives: Suicide is a leading cause of death in the US. The rate of suicide the week after mental health discharge is 2950 suicides per 100000 person years, the rate of suicide attempts is higher. This study examined suicide attempts in the week after discharge from a mental health admission in a national hospital system.

Method: We examined 108 reports of suicide attempts within 7 days of mental health unit discharge in the Veterans Health Administration between 1/1/21 and 12/31/21. The reports were coded for method, contributing factors, time of the attempt after discharge, location, mental health condition and other demographic variables.

Results: Over 59% of the attempts were overdoses. Contributing factors included mental-health issues, irregular discharge, eviction from housing, relapse on substances, pain, and psychosocial problems. Over 42% of the attempts occurred within one day of discharge.

Conclusion: Our results suggest the need for enhanced treatment for patients recently discharged from a mental health admission to include:

  1. Evidenced-based, suicide-focused, treatment for patients while in the hospital.
  2. Enhanced psychosocial evaluation while in the hospital.
  3. Follow up treatment using the WHO-BIC model for patients at discharge.
  4. Enhanced suicide risk-assessment for all patients at discharge assessing access to firearms and drugs.

 Keywords: Suicide Attempts; Mental Health Discharge; Adverse Medical Events; Patient Safety

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Peter D Mills., et al. “Suicide Attempts within 7 Days of an Inpatient Mental Health Admission” ”. EC Psychology and Psychiatry  13.2 (2024): 01-10.

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