Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services, Broome, WA, Australia.
The Rural Clinical School of Western Australia, The University of Western Australia, Broome, WA, Australia.
Australas Psychiatry. 2022 Feb;30(1):70-73. doi: 10.1177/10398562211010790. Epub 2021 May 5.
To explore the rates and characteristics of self-harm across the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Retrospective, cross-sectional audit. We obtained and descriptively analysed routinely collected self-harm data from the Kimberley District of the Western Australia Police Force (2014-2018) and the Emergency Department Data Collection (June 2017-December 2018). Variables included age, sex, Indigenous status, time of incident, and alcohol and drug use.
The rate of emergency department attendance for self-harm was three times higher in the Kimberley than the rest of Western Australia. Both emergency department and police data showed a disproportionately high percentage of incidents involving Aboriginal people, with highest rates in the 15-19 and 20-24 year age groups. Almost 80% of self-harm events recorded by police involving individuals aged 25-50 years involved alcohol. Many self-harm incidents occurred in the evening and at night.
The rates of self-harm across the Kimberley region from 2014-2018 are unacceptably high. Increased funding and alignment of services to meet regional need are required as part of a holistic effort to reduce regional rates of self-harm.
探索澳大利亚西部金伯利地区的自残率及其特征。
回顾性、横断面审计。我们从西澳警方金伯利地区（2014-2018 年）和急诊部数据采集（2017 年 6 月至 2018 年 12 月）中获取并描述性地分析了常规收集的自残数据。变量包括年龄、性别、土著身份、事件发生时间以及酒精和药物使用情况。
金伯利地区因自残到急诊室就诊的比率是西澳其他地区的三倍。急诊部和警方的数据都显示，涉及土著居民的事件比例过高，15-19 岁和 20-24 岁年龄组的比率最高。警方记录的涉及 25-50 岁个体的自残事件中，近 80%涉及酒精。许多自残事件发生在傍晚和夜间。
2014-2018 年，金伯利地区的自残率高得令人无法接受。需要增加资金并调整服务，以满足区域需求，作为降低区域自残率的整体努力的一部分。
