Ani Josephat O, Ross Andrew J, Campbell Laura M
Department of Family Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2017 May 29;9(1):e1-e7. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v9i1.1234.
The World Health Organization has described deliberate self-harm (DSH) as a major global health challenge. Little is known about the profile of patients admitted following DSH at district and regional combo hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
The aim of this study was to assess the profiles of patients and reasons for admission following DSH.
The study was conducted on data from a busy Accident and Emergency (A&E) department in a combination district and regional hospital situated in Empangeni in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
This was a retrospective descriptive study. Data were collected from charts of all patients admitted to the A&E department from April 2012 to March 2013 following DSH. Variables assessed included age, gender, race, occupation, religion, education level, coexisting medical and mental health conditions, and reasons for DSH. Data were entered into SPSS and analysed descriptively.
A total of 262 charts were identified and 215 (82%) were selected for inclusion. Most patients admitted following DSH were young, single African women with at least secondary-level education. Most (169/215;78%) admissions were for parasuicide, with relational issues contributing in more than 50% of cases and circumstance challenges contributing in just under 30%.
Although an underestimation, DSH is not an uncommon reason for patients to present in the A&E at this district and regional combo hospital. Findings from this study are consistent with those of other studies on DSH and highlight the need for a validated screening tool for the identification of patients at risk of DSH. There is a need to explore community-based intervention, which could address reasons for DSH and prevent future admissions.
世界卫生组织已将蓄意自伤描述为一项重大的全球健康挑战。对于南非夸祖鲁 - 纳塔尔省地区和区域综合医院中因蓄意自伤而入院的患者情况，人们了解甚少。
本研究的目的是评估因蓄意自伤而入院的患者情况及入院原因。
该研究基于位于夸祖鲁 - 纳塔尔省北部恩庞吉尼的一家繁忙的区县级和区域级综合医院急诊科的数据展开。
这是一项回顾性描述性研究。收集了2012年4月至2013年3月期间因蓄意自伤而入住急诊科的所有患者病历中的数据。评估的变量包括年龄、性别、种族、职业、宗教、教育水平、并存的医疗和心理健康状况以及蓄意自伤的原因。数据录入SPSS并进行描述性分析。
共识别出262份病历，其中215份（82%）被选入研究。因蓄意自伤入院的大多数患者是年轻、单身的非洲女性，至少接受过中等教育。大多数（169/215；78%）入院是因为准自杀行为，其中关系问题在超过50%的病例中起作用，环境挑战因素在略低于30%的病例中起作用。
尽管存在低估情况，但蓄意自伤在这家区县级和区域级综合医院的急诊科并非患者就诊的罕见原因。本研究结果与其他关于蓄意自伤的研究结果一致，并强调需要一种经过验证的筛查工具来识别有蓄意自伤风险的患者。有必要探索基于社区的干预措施，以解决蓄意自伤的原因并防止未来的入院情况。
