Self-Reported Needs for Care Among Persons Who Have Suicidal Ideation or Who Have Attempted Suicide

Abstract

This study examined the self-reported needs of suicidal users of mental health services and the extent to which needs were met. Data on 10,641 adults were available from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. In the year before the survey, 245 persons with suicidal ideation used services, 37 of whom had attempted suicide. Suicidal persons reported a range of needs, especially for counseling, medication, and information. More than half of those with suicidal ideation and those who had attempted suicide who reported any needs felt that their needs had not been fully met. Suicidal persons were significantly more likely to perceive that they had needs.

Who Seeks Treatment Where? Suicidal Behaviors and Health Care

“…Similar to previous investigations, help-seekers were more likely to suffer from mental problems (De Leo et al, 1999;Pirkis et al, 2000) and were at greater risk of using drugs as a suicide method. Further, as reported in the past (Deisenhammer et al, 2007;Luoma et al, 2002;Pirkis et al, 2001), treatment-seekers had history of previous help-seeking behaviour and communicated their suicidal ideation prior to the act. There were also some discriminating factors between those who sought a single treatment versus those who attended multiple services, with the former being more likely to have made more than one attempt and be separated, while a significantly greater proportion of the later were female and at greater risk of co-morbid physical and psychological illness.…”

“…Developing greater knowledge of the specific characteristics and needs of suicidal persons has been suggested as a way to enhance current understandings of the relationship between suicidality and its treatment, with the long term goal of improving treatment outcomes (Brook et al, 2006;Pirkis et al, 2000). Evidence suggests, for example, that suicidal persons can be clearly distinguished from the general population of health care users, as they are often burdened by a greater range of both chronic physical and mental health problems (Taylor et al, 2007) and seek treatment from multiple sources (Deisenhammer et al, 2007;Meadows et al, 2001;Parslow and Jorm, 2001;Pirkis et al, 2001;Taylor et al, 2007). Research also indicates that suicide attempters who actively seek treatment are more likely to be female (Luoma et al, 2002; and use methods such as poisoning or drug overdosing (Howson et al, 2008).…”

Formal and Informal Help During the Year After a Suicide Attempt: a One-Year Follow-Up

“…However, the literature is sparse about the specifi c needs of suicidal patients for help with their psychosocial problems. In two studies of self-reported needs among suicidal and non-suicidal psychiatric patients, suicidal patients reported signifi cantly more needs, and they above all reported needs for psychiatric treatment, counselling, medication and information (Hintikka et al, 1998;Pirkis et al, 2001).…”

Psychosocial factors associated with suicidal ideation among young men exempted from compulsory military or civil service

“…Studies have suggested that many individuals with suicidal behaviours who have received services report that their needs were not fully met [25]. Young men with suicidal ideation may have complex needs.…”