The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Self-Harm Attempts Observed in a Hospital Emergency Department
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Design and Sample
2.2. Procedure
2.3. Variables
2.4. Data Analysis
2.5. Ethical Considerations
3. Results
3.1. Sociodemographic Characteristics
3.2. Previous Psychiatric History and Treatment
3.3. Characteristics of Self-Harm Attempts
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Total Sample | Pre-Pandemic (2018–2019) | Post-Pandemic (2021–2022) | p | |
---|---|---|---|---|
n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | ||
Gender | 0.620 | |||
Male | 192 (36.3%) | 66 (35.7%) | 92 (35.1%) | |
Female | 332 (62.8%) | 118 (63.8%) | 166 (63.4%) | |
Non-binary | 5 (9%) | 1 (0.5%) | 4 (1.5%) | |
Marital Status | 0.963 | |||
Unknown | 225 (42.5%) | 83 (44.9%) | 113 (43.1%) | |
Single | 40 (7.6%) | 12 (6.5%) | 20 (7.6%) | |
Couple | 84 (15.9%) | 30 (16.2%) | 41 (15.6%) | |
Married | 78 (14.7%) | 25 (13.5%) | 40 (15.3%) | |
Separated | 85 (16.1%) | 31 (16.8%) | 40 (15.3%) | |
Widowed | 17 (3.2%) | 4 (2.2%) | 8 (3.1%) | |
Prior Drug Use | 0.128 | |||
No | 404 (76.4%) | 134 (72.4%) | 206 (78.6%) | |
Yes | 116 (21.9%) | 49 (26.5%) | 50 (19.1%) | |
Ex-consumer | 9 (1.7%) | 2 (1.1%) | 6 (2.3%) |
Age | Previous Self-Harm Attempts | ||
---|---|---|---|
Previous self-harm attempts | Correlation coefficient | −0.100 * | |
Sig. (bilateral) | 0.034 | ||
Previous admissions to psychiatry | Correlation coefficient | −0.034 | 0.329 ** |
Sig. (bilateral) | 0.478 | 0.000 |
Total Sample | Pre-Pandemic (2018–2019) | Post-Pandemic (2021–2022) | p | |
---|---|---|---|---|
n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | ||
Psychiatric history | 0.005 ** | |||
No | 128 (24.2%) | 49 (26.5%) | 56 (21.4%) | |
Anxiety | 41 (7.8%) | 14 (7.6%) | 18 (6.9%) | |
Depression | 73 (13.8%) | 31 (16.8%) | 31 (12.2%) | |
Anxiety and depression | 85 (16.1%) | 25 (13.5%) | 44 (16.8%) | |
Gender dysphoria | 3 (0.6%) | 1 (0.5%) | 2 (0.8%) | |
BPD | 26 (4.9%) | 15 (8.1%) | 9 (3.5%) | |
ADHD | 5 (0.9%) | 0 (0%) | 4 (1.5%) | |
Adaptive/dissociative identity disorder | 24 (4.5%) | 10 (5.4%) | 13 (5%) | |
Schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder | 4 (0.8%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (0.8%) | |
OCD | 1 (0.2%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (0.4%) | |
Emotional instability/dysthymia/reactive attachment disorder | 5 (1%) | 1 (0.5%) | 2 (0.8%) | |
Bipolar disorder | 7 (1.3%) | 5 (2.7%) | 1 (0.4%) | |
Epilepsy | 5 (0.9%) | 2 (1.1%) | 3 (1.1%) | |
Psychotic disorder | 5 (0.9%) | 4 (2.2%) | 1 (0.4%) | |
Eating Disorder | 2 (0.4%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (0.8%) | |
Pluripathological (>2) | 115 (21.7%) | 28 (15.1%) | 72 (27.5%) | |
Psychiatric treatment | 0.031 ** | |||
No | 133 (25.1%) | 63 (34.1%) | 51 (19.5%) | |
Polymedication (>2) | 292 (55.2%) | 91 (49.2%) | 153 (58.4%) | |
Antidepressant | 37 (7%) | 14 (7.6%) | 20 (7.6%) | |
Anxiolytic | 58 (10.9%) | 15 (8.1%) | 32 (12.2%) | |
Antipsychotic | 2 (0.4%) | 1 (0.5%) | 1 (0.4%) | |
Anticonvulsant | 1 (0.2%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | |
Treatment for ADHD | 2 (0.4%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (0.8%) | |
Hypnotic | 2 (0.4%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (0.8%) | |
Antiepileptic | 2 (0.4%) | 1 (0.5%) | 2 (0.8%) |
Total Sample | Pre-Pandemic (2018–2019) | Post-Pandemic (2021–2022) | p | |
---|---|---|---|---|
n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | ||
Intent of the act | 0.474 | |||
Unknown | 53 (10%) | 21 (11.4%) | 25 (9.5%) | |
Death | 417 (78.8%) | 141 (76.2%) | 212 (80.9%) | |
Denies self-intention | 59 (11.2%) | 23 (12.4%) | 25 (9.5%) | |
Method of self-harm | 0.149 | |||
Various methods | 36 (6.8%) | 9 (4.9%) | 24 (9.2%) | |
Drug ingestion | 340 (64.3%) | 112 (60.5%) | 174 (66.4%) | |
Drug injection | 4 (0.8%) | 1 (0.5%) | 2 (0.8%) | |
Chemical ingestion | 11 (2.1%) | 5 (2.7%) | 6 (2.3%) | |
Precipitation | 26 (4.9%) | 13 (7%) | 8 (3.1%) | |
Drowning | 2 (0.4%) | 2 (1.1%) | 0 (0%) | |
Hanging | 19 (3.6%) | 9 (4.9%) | 6 (2.3%) | |
Sharp force trauma | 73 (13.8%) | 27 (14.6%) | 33 (12.6%) | |
Firearm | 2 (0.4%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (0.8%) | |
Self-harm ideas | 6 (1.1%) | 2 (1.1%) | 3 (1.1%) | |
Electrocution | 1 (0.2%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (0.4%) | |
Gas inhalation | 7 (1.3%) | 4 (2.2%) | 2 (0.8%) | |
Burns | 1 (0.2%) | 1 (0.5%) | 0 (0%) | |
Beatings | 1 (0.2%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (0.4%) | |
Patient destination | 0.478 | |||
Admission to psychiatry | 139 (26.3%) | 49 (26.5%) | 66 (25.2%) | |
Discharge to home | 353 (66.7%) | 123 (66.5%) | 176 (67.2%) | |
Voluntary discharge | 25 (4.7%) | 9 (4.9%) | 14 (5.3%) | |
ICU | 8 (1.5%) | 1 (0.5%) | 5 (1.9%) | |
Runaway | 4 (0.8%) | 3 (1.6%) | 1 (0.4) | |
Previous self-harm attempts | ||||
No | 336 (63.5%) | 124 (67%) | 162 (61.8%) | |
1 | 110 (20.8%) | 34 (18.4%) | 52 (19.8%) | |
2 | 46 (8.7%) | 13 (7%) | 27 (10.3%) | |
3 | 28 (5.3%) | 12 (6.5%) | 14 (5.3%) | |
4 | 7 (1.3%) | 2 (1.1%) | 5 (1.9%) | |
5 | 1 (0.2%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (0.4%) | |
6 | 1 (0.2%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (0.4%) | |
Previous psychiatric admissions | 0.811 | |||
No | 480 (90.7%) | 169 (91.4%) | 241 (92%) | |
Yes | 49 (9.3%) | 16 (8.6%) | 21 (8%) | |
Deceased after the self-harm attempt | 0.811 | |||
No | 526 (99.4%) | 184 (99.5%) | 260 (99.2%) | |
Yes | 3 (0.6%) | 1 (0.5%) | 2 (0.8%) |
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Fernández-Martínez, E.; Barros-Martínez, A.; Martínez-Fernández, M.C.; Quiñones-Pérez, M. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Self-Harm Attempts Observed in a Hospital Emergency Department. Healthcare 2024, 12, 385. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12030385
Fernández-Martínez E, Barros-Martínez A, Martínez-Fernández MC, Quiñones-Pérez M. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Self-Harm Attempts Observed in a Hospital Emergency Department. Healthcare. 2024; 12(3):385. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12030385
Chicago/Turabian StyleFernández-Martínez, Elena, Andrea Barros-Martínez, María Cristina Martínez-Fernández, and Marta Quiñones-Pérez. 2024. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Self-Harm Attempts Observed in a Hospital Emergency Department" Healthcare 12, no. 3: 385. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12030385
APA StyleFernández-Martínez, E., Barros-Martínez, A., Martínez-Fernández, M. C., & Quiñones-Pérez, M. (2024). The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Self-Harm Attempts Observed in a Hospital Emergency Department. Healthcare, 12(3), 385. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12030385