Investigating the Sociodemographic Features of Attempted Suicide cases in a Paediatric Emergency Department from a Primary Healthcare Perspective

Background: The present study aimed to understand the causative sociodemographic factors to prevent the ever-increasing childhood suicides.Methods: The records of the patients presented to the paediatric emergency department of Samsun Training and Research Hospital for attempted suicide between ۰۱ January ۲۰۱۹ and ۳۰ June ۳۰ ۲۰۲۱ were investigated in this cross-sectional, descriptive study. SPSS (version ۲۰.۰) software package was used for data analyses.Results: A total of ۶۱ children were included in this study. There was no record of mortality. The rate of repeated suicide attempts was ۱۱.۴% (n=۷). The rate of girls who had attempted suicide (n=۵۳, ۸۶.۹%) was higher than that of boys. The mean age of the children was ۱۵.۱۵±۲.۱۹ years. The parents of ۴۸% of the cases were married. Hospital admissions most frequently occurred between ۶:۰۰ pm and ۱۲:۰۰ am midnight (n=۲۲, ۳۶.۱%) and between July and September (n=۲۰, ۳۲.۸%). Drug intoxication was the most common form of suicide (n=۵۴, ۸۸.۵%), whereas the most frequent reason for attempting suicide was argument with a first-degree relative (n=۱۲, ۱۹.۷%). Children with unmarried parents more frequently attempted suicide and were more frequently diagnosed with psychiatric disorders (p=۰.۰۳۱ and p=۰.۰۳۲, respectively). Children diagnosed with psychiatric disorders had a higher rate of previous attempted suicides (p=۰.۰۰۱).Conclusion: It may be valuable to examine problems specific to certain age groups, pay attention to the signs, keep the primary healthcare institutions alert and develop clinical protocols for such cases to prevent suicides.

Keywords:

Suicide , Child , primary care , Hospital Emergency Service