A new report from the National centre for suicide research and prevention (NASP) at Region Stockholm and Karolinska Institutet shows that 33 of the 230 people who died by suicide in Stockholm County in 2015 had been in contact with healthcare services during the last 24 hours of their lives. The report provides insights into the types of healthcare contacts these individuals had, the problems documented in their medical records, and the support interventions that were ongoing.
Of the 230 people who died by suicide in Stockholm County in 2015, 33 had contact with healthcare services during their final 24 hours, and for 20 of them, the contact occurred on the same day as their death. In this sub-study, medical records were reviewed retrospectively over a two-year period to examine where these 33 individuals sought care, what concerns were documented, and what interventions were underway.
Most individuals, 21 out of 33, had their final healthcare contact within psychiatric services. At the same time, just over one-third had contact exclusively with primary care or specialist somatic healthcare services.
Photo: Ulf Sirborn
“By studying the healthcare contacts people had during their final day of life, we can learn more about how individuals at risk of suicide seek care, what needs they express, and which warning signs are documented. This knowledge is important for psychiatry, primary care, and specialist somatic healthcare in the continued work of suicide prevention,” says Inga-Lill Ramberg , PhD, affiliated with NASP and the Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics at Karolinska Institutet, and an administrator at Region Stockholm.
