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Deficiencies in healthcare prior to suicide and actions to deal with them: a retrospective study of investigations after suicide in Swedish healthcare.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:The overall aim of this study was to aggregate the conclusions of all investigations conducted after suicides reported to the supervisory authority in Sweden in 2015, and to identify deficiencies in healthcare found in these investigations; the actions proposed to deal with the deficiencies; the level of the organisational hierarchy (micro-meso-macro) in which the deficiencies and actions were situated; and outcomes of the supervisory authority's decisions. DESIGN AND SETTING:This is a retrospective study of all reports from Swedish primary and secondary healthcare after suicide to the regulatory authority in Sweden in 2015. RESULTS:In 55% (n=240) of cases, healthcare providers reported healthcare deficiencies that contributed to suicide; these deficiencies were primarily in 'suicide risk assessment' and 'treatment'. Actions aimed at preventing new suicides were proposed in 80% of cases (n=347). By far, the most frequent actions were 'education and competence', present in 52% of cases (n=227) and did not much correspond with identified deficiencies. Sixty-five per cent of the deficiencies and actions were at microlevel, while the remainders were at mesolevel. In 65% (n=284) of cases, the supervisory authority approved the investigation without further requirements. CONCLUSIONS:The most common identified deficiencies were related to care in the immediate interface between patient and staff. Actions proposed to prevent new suicides were centred on single educational interventions without distinctive sustainable effects in the organisations and usually did not correspond with the identified deficiencies. Future research should examine if application of a framework based on knowledge of the suicide process, suicide prevention strategies and patient safety would enable more sophisticated investigations that could facilitate progress on suicide prevention.

SUBMITTER: Roos Af Hjelmsater E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6924838 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Deficiencies in healthcare prior to suicide and actions to deal with them: a retrospective study of investigations after suicide in Swedish healthcare.

Roos Af Hjelmsäter Elin E Ros Axel A Gäre Boel Andersson BA Westrin Åsa Å

BMJ open 20191211 12

<h4>Objectives</h4>The overall aim of this study was to aggregate the conclusions of all investigations conducted after suicides reported to the supervisory authority in Sweden in 2015, and to identify deficiencies in healthcare found in these investigations; the actions proposed to deal with the deficiencies; the level of the organisational hierarchy (micro-meso-macro) in which the deficiencies and actions were situated; and outcomes of the supervisory authority's decisions.<h4>Design and setti ...[more]

PMID: 31831542

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Project description:ObjectivesTo explore how mandatory reporting to the supervisory authority of suicides among recipients of healthcare services has influenced associated investigations conducted by the healthcare services, the lessons obtained and whether any suicide-prevention-related improvements in terms of patient safety had followed.Design and settingsRetrospective study of reports from Swedish primary and secondary healthcare to the supervisory authority after suicide.ParticipantsCohort 1: the cases reported to the supervisory authority in 2006, from the time the reporting of suicides became mandatory, to 2007 (n=279). Cohort 2: the cases reported in 2015, a period of well-established reporting (n=436). Cohort 3: the cases reported from September 2017, which was the time the law regarding reporting was removed, to November 2019 (n=316).Primary and secondary outcome measuresDemographic data and received treatment in the months preceding suicide were registered. Reported deficiencies in healthcare and actions were categorised by using a coding scheme, analysed per individual and aggregated per cohort. Separate notes were made when a deficiency or action was related to a healthcare-service routine.ResultsThe investigations largely adopted a microsystem perspective, focusing on final patient contact, throughout the overall study period. Updating existing or developing new routines as well as educational actions were increasingly proposed over time, while sharing conclusions across departments rarely was recommended.ConclusionsThe mandatory reporting of suicides as potential cases of patient harm was shown to be restricted to information transfer between healthcare providers and the supervisory authority, rather than fostering participative improvement of patient safety for suicidal patients.The similarity in outcomes across the cohorts, regardless of changes in legislation, suggests that the investigations were adapted to suit the structure of the authority's reports rather than the specific incident type, and that no new service improvements or lessons are being identified.

Project description:ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate whether violent and non-violent offending were related to elevated risk of suicide. We also investigated whether the risk was higher among those with repeated offences and how experiences of substance misuse and suicide attempt modified the relationship.DesignA nationwide prospective cohort study.SettingA register study of 48 834 conscripted men in 1969/1970 in Sweden followed up during a 35-year period in official registers.ParticipantsA birth cohort of 48 834 men who were mandatory conscripted for military service in 1969/70 at the age of 18-20 years. Possible confounders were retrieved from psychological assessments at conscription and the cohort was linked to mortality and hospitalisation and crime records from 1970 onwards. Estimates of suicide risks were calculated as HR with 95% CIs using Cox proportional regression analyses with adjustment for potential confounding by family, psychological and behavioural factors including substance use and psychiatric disorders.ResultsOf the total cohort, 2671 (5.5%) persons died during the follow-up period. Of these, 615 (23%) persons died due to suicide. Non-violent criminality was evident for 29% and violent criminality for 4.7% of all the participants. In the crude model, the violent offenders had nearly five times higher risk (HR=4.69, 3.56 to 6.19) to die from suicide and non-violent criminals had about two times higher risk (HR=2.08, 1.72 to 2.52). In the fully adjusted model, the HRs were still significant for suicide in the non-violent group.ConclusionsExperiences of violent or non-violent criminality were associated with increased risk of suicide. Comorbidity with alcohol and substance use and psychiatric disorders modified the risk, but the suicide risk remained significantly elevated for non-violent criminals. It is crucial to identify offenders and especially repeated offenders who also suffer from alcohol or substance misuse and psychiatric illness in clinical settings in order to prevent suicide.

Project description:IntroductionPrevention of suicide is a global public health challenge extending beyond mental health services. Linking routinely collected health and social care system data records for the same individual across different services and over time has enormous potential in suicide research. Most previous research linking suicide mortality data with routinely collected electronic health records involves only one or two domains of healthcare provision such as psychiatric inpatient care. This protocol paper describes the development of a population-based, routinely collected data linkage study: the Suicide Information Database Cymru (SID-Cymru). SID-Cymru aims to contribute to the information available on people who complete suicide.Methods and analysisSID-Cymru will facilitate a series of electronic case-control studies based in the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank. We have identified 2664 cases of suicide in Wales between 2003 and 2011 from routinely collected mortality data using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, codes X60-X84 (intentional self-harm) and Y10-Y34 (undetermined intent). Each case will be matched by age and sex to at least five controls. Records will be collated and linked from routinely collected health and social data in Wales for each individual. Conditional logistic regression will be applied to produce crude and confounder (including general practice, socioeconomic status) adjusted ORs.Ethics and disseminationThe SAIL Databank has the required ethical permissions in place to analyse anonymised data. Ethical approval has been granted by the Information Governance Review Panel (IGRP). Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, consultations with stakeholders and national/international conference presentations. The improved understanding of the prior health, nature of previous contacts with services and wider social circumstances of those who complete suicide will assist in prevention policy, service organisation and delivery. SID-Cymru is funded through the National Institute for Social Care and Health Research, Welsh Government (RFS-12-25).

Dataset Information

Deficiencies in healthcare prior to suicide and actions to deal with them: a retrospective study of investigations after suicide in Swedish healthcare.

Publications

Deficiencies in healthcare prior to suicide and actions to deal with them: a retrospective study of investigations after suicide in Swedish healthcare.

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