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Suicide & life-threatening behavior
02, 2020;50 (1): 42-55.

Public Health Surveillance of Youth Suicide Attempts: Challenges and Opportunities.

Michael D Singleton, Laura M Frey, Ashley Webb, Julie Cerel
Author Information
  1. Michael D Singleton: University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA. ORCID
  2. Laura M Frey: Kent School of Social Work, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA. ORCID
  3. Ashley Webb: Kentucky Poison Control Center, Norton Children's Hospital, Louisville, KY, USA.
  4. Julie Cerel: College of Social Work, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA. ORCID
PMID: 31318087 DOI: 10.1111/sltb.12572

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Surveillance of youth suicide attempts presents many challenges. To assess common data sources that capture information about youth suicidal behavior, we compared counts of high school students who reported (a) a suicide attempt and (b) an injurious suicide attempt, requiring medical treatment in the previous twelve months, with counts of suicide deaths and intentional self-injuries obtained from administrative data sources.
METHOD: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), high school enrollments, and vital statistics were used to estimate the ratio of suicide attempts to suicide deaths among Kentucky high school students. YRBSS and enrollment data were used to estimate the number of Kentucky high school students who received medical treatment following a suicide attempt, which was compared with hospital and emergency department (ED) discharges for intentional self-injury from administrative claim records.
RESULTS: We estimated 943 students reporting a suicide attempt for every suicide death, a result that is higher than previous estimates for youth. Self-reported suicide attempts resulting in medical treatment were 7.5 times higher than self-injuries reported in claims records.
CONCLUSION: Future research should address concerns about undocumented cases of intentional self-injury in administrative claims systems; patient encounters in nonhospital settings for injuries resulting from a suicide attempt; and validity of Youth Risk Behavior Survey questions on suicidal behavior.

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MeSH Term

Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior
Emergency Service, Hospital
Female
Humans
Male
Public Health Surveillance
Risk-Taking
Self-Injurious Behavior
Students
Suicidal Ideation
Suicide
Suicide, Attempted
Journal Article
Article has an altmetric score of 7

Word Cloud

Created with Highcharts 10.0.0suicideattempthighschoolstudentsSurveillanceyouthattemptsdatamedicaltreatmentintentionaladministrativeYouthsourcessuicidalbehaviorcomparedcountsreportedpreviousdeathsself-injuriesRiskBehaviorYRBSSusedestimateKentuckyself-injuryrecordshigherresultingclaimsBACKGROUND:presentsmanychallengesassesscommoncaptureinformationbinjuriousrequiringtwelvemonthsobtainedMETHOD:SystemenrollmentsvitalstatisticsratioamongenrollmentnumberreceivedfollowinghospitalemergencydepartmentEDdischargesclaimRESULTS:estimated943reportingeverydeathresultestimatesSelf-reported75timesCONCLUSION:FutureresearchaddressconcernsundocumentedcasessystemspatientencountersnonhospitalsettingsinjuriesvaliditySurveyquestionsPublicHealthSuicideAttempts:ChallengesOpportunities

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