The last appointment before suicide: is suicide intent communicated?
OBJECTIVE
The authors' goal was to determine whether people who committed suicide within 4 weeks after having made contact with a health care professional communicated their intent to commit suicide during that final contact.


METHODS
Using data from a nationwide psychological autopsy study of all suicides in Finland that occurred in 1 year, the authors examined the 571 cases of suicide victims whose last appointment with a health care professional took place up to 28 days before suicide, including 100 cases of victims who had appointments on the day of suicide.


RESULTS
Suicide intent was reportedly discussed in only 22% of the cases; it was particularly uncommon in general practice and nonpsychiatric specialist settings.


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of patients who commit suicide do not seem to communicate their intent to do so during their last appointment.
Isometsä
E T
ET
Department of Mental Health, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Heikkinen
M E
ME
Marttunen
M J
MJ
Henriksson
M M
MM
Aro
H M
HM
Lönnqvist
J K
JK
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008511:Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013038:Specialization; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data