Psychiatric care of suicides in Hong Kong.
BACKGROUND
Though psychiatric patients have high suicidal risks, relatively little is known about the pattern of psychiatric care they received, especially in a non-Western setting.


METHODS
Territory-wide record linkage study of computerised psychiatric records of suicide cases according to coroner's verdicts.


RESULTS
Only 1/4 of the suicide population received psychiatric care in Hong Kong. These patient suicides differed from general population suicide in the distribution of sex, age, and suicide methods. Suicides are more common during the periods of in-patient care and immediately post discharge. Among these patient suicides, recent contacts with psychiatrists before their lethal acts were common.


CONCLUSIONS
Proportion of patients that received psychiatric care could be underestimates because private psychiatric patients and persons who immigrated were not counted. No clinical data are available from the record linkage.


CONCLUSIONS
A wider coverage of psychiatric care to the suicidal population is required through improved accessibility and public health education. A smooth transition of care after discharge, active case tracing, and improved in-patient care should be considered.
Ho
Ting-Pong
TP
Department of Psychiatry, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong. hrmchtp@hkucc.hku.hk
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010351:Patient Discharge; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013406:Suicide, Attempted