A large-scale survey of inpatient suicides: comparison between medical and psychiatric settings.
Suicide is one of the common severe accidents occurring in hospitals. This study aimed to investigate inpatient suicides simultaneously in medical and psychiatric settings in a large number of hospitals and to examine the prevalence of common suicide risk factors, related symptoms in inpatients who had died by suicide and the differences in inpatient suicides between both settings. We conducted a survey of hospitals in Japan that belonged to the nationwide standard-setting and accrediting body. The questionnaire covered the: 1) presence or absence of inpatient suicides in each hospital from 2012 to 2015; 2) number of inpatient suicides; 3) method, location, and timing of inpatient suicides; and 4) characteristics of inpatients who died by suicide. In total, 529 hospitals reported 262 inpatient suicides during the 3-year period: 131 were in medical settings and 131 were in psychiatric settings. The prevalence of common suicide risk factors was frequent in inpatient suicides. Inpatients had characteristics and suicide risk factors specific to those settings such as worsening of physical health in medical settings. Therefore, recognizing common suicide risk factors and understanding differences in inpatient suicides between both settings are important to prevent inpatient suicides.
Department of Psychiatry, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan; Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo Medical University, S1 W17, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-8556, Japan. Electronic address: t136008f@yokohama-cu.ac.jp.
Keisuke
K
Inoue
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo Medical University, S1 W17, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-8556, Japan. Electronic address: chiaki.kawanishi@gmail.com.
Chiaki
C
Kawanishi
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Iwate Medical University, 19-1 Uchimaru, Morioka, Iwate 020-8505, Japan. Electronic address: kotaro29@df6.so-net.ne.jp.
Kotaro
K
Otsuka
Department of Psychiatry, Teikyo University Mizonokuchi Hospital, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan. Electronic address: yosinori@med.teikyo-u.ac.jp.
Yoshinori
Y
Cho
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo Medical University, S1 W17, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-8556, Japan. Electronic address: masaki@sapmed.ac.jp.
Masaki
M
Shiraishi
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo Medical University, S1 W17, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-8556, Japan. Electronic address: ishitaka@sapmed.ac.jp.
Takao
T
Ishii
Department of Psycho-Oncology, Saitama Medical University International Medical Center, 1397-1 Yamane, Hidaka City, Saitama 350-1298, Japan. Electronic address: honishi@saitama-med.ac.jp.
Hideki
H
Onishi
Department of Psychiatry, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan. Electronic address: hirayasu@yokohama-cu.ac.jp.
Yoshio
Y
Hirayasu
D006761:Hospitals; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007564:Japan; D012307:Risk Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Cancer; General hospital; Patient safety; Physical illness; Psychiatric hospital; Psychiatric illness; Risk factor