Article Sidebar
Article Details
http://www.sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/pages/view/policies#part_4
Copyright
The author(s) retain copyright on work published by AOSIS unless specified otherwise.
Licensing and publishing rights
Author(s) of work published by AOSIS are required to grant AOSIS the unlimited rights to publish the definitive work in any format, language and medium, for any lawful purpose.
AOSIS requires journal authors to publish their work in open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.
Read more here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The authors retain the non-exclusive right to do anything they wish with the published article(s), provided attribution is given to the applicable journal with details of the original publication, as set out in the official citation of the article published in the journal. The retained right specifically includes the right to post the article on the authors’ or their institution’s websites or in institutional repositories.
Previously published work may have been published under a different licence. We advise the community that if they would like to reuse the work to consult the applicable licence at article level.
Main Article Content
The profile analysis of attempted-suicide patients referred to Pelonomi Hospital for psychological evaluation and treatment from 1 May 2005 to 30 April 2006
Abstract
Background. Suicide is an increasing phenomenon worldwide. A suicide occurs every 40 seconds, and there is 1 attempt every 1 to 3 seconds. By 2020, these figures
may have doubled. No accurate statistics regarding the occurrence of attempted suicide (or non-fatal suicidal behaviour) in South Africa exist, because there has been no systematic data collection.
Aim. The aim of the study was to determine the profile of patients who had attempted suicide and were referred to Pelonomi Hospital, Bloemfontein, for psychological
evaluation and treatment during the period 1 May 2005 to 30 April 2006.
Method. A descriptive, retrospective study was conducted. The study population comprised 258 attempted-suicide patients referred to Pelonomi Hospital for psychological
evaluation and treatment. A data form was compiled to transfer the relevant information from patients\' clinical files.
Results. The majority of patients were female (68.9%). The median age was 22 years. The most common method used in suicide attempts was drug overdose (66%) – mostly
antidepressants (19.7%)) and analgesics (8.2%). More females than males overdosed on drugs (p=0.0103). The main precipitating factors included problematic relationships (55.4%), financial problems (22.9%), Volume 14 No. 1 March 2008 - SAJP
psychiatric problems (22.1%), arguments (19.8%), abuse (emotional, sexual, physical – 18.2%), low self-esteem/ worthlessness/hopelessness/humiliation (16.7%), and
recent life changes (13.2%).
Conclusion. The aim of the study was to determine the profile of patients who had attempted suicide. Possible factors associated with suicide attempts in our sample
were identified and summarised in the form of a screening checklist. The value of the checklist is that it can be used as a screening method to identify possible suicide risk in
patients.
South African Journal of Psychiatry Vol. 14 (1) 2008: pp. 20-26
