Substance use and self-harm : a cross-sectional study of the prevalence, correlates and patterns of medical service utilisation among patients admitted to a South African hospital
Date
2018-03-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BioMed Central
Abstract
Background:
Substance use is a potentially modifiable risk factor for suicidal behaviour. Little is known about the epidemiology of substance use among self-harm patients in South Africa. This study set out to collect epidemiological data about the prevalence, correlates, and patterns of medical service utilisation among self-harm patients who used substances at the time of self-injury.
Methods:
Data from 238 consecutive self-harm patients treated at an urban hospital in South Africa were analysed using bivariate and multivariate statistics.
Results
Approximately 20% of patients reported substance use at the time of self-harm. When compared to other self-harm patients, higher rates of patients who had used substances: had depressed levels of consciousness on admission; utilised more medical resources and required longer hospital admissions; cited relationship difficulties and financial concerns as reasons for their self-harm; reported a previous episode of self-harm; and intended to die as a result of their injuries. Although the observed differences were not statistically significant (pā>ā0.05), the proportional differences were congruent with international literature.
Conclusion:
Acute use of substances among self-harm patients warrants more focused research and clinical attention particularly in the context of reducing utilisation of scarce medical resources.
Description
CITATION: Breet, E., Bantjes, J. & Lewis, I. 2018. Substance use and self-harm : a cross-sectional study of the prevalence, correlates and patterns of medical service utilisation among patients admitted to a South African hospital. BMC Health Services Research, 18:157, doi:10.1186/s12913-018-2963-7.
The original publication is available at https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com
The original publication is available at https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com
Keywords
Substance use, Substance-related disorders, Suicidal behavior, Self-harm, Non-fatal, Medical care
Citation
Breet, E., Bantjes, J. & Lewis, I. 2018. Substance use and self-harm : a cross-sectional study of the prevalence, correlates and patterns of medical service utilisation among patients admitted to a South African hospital. BMC Health Services Research, 18:157, doi:10.1186/s12913-018-2963-7