Disparities in Treatment of Older Adults with Suicide Risk in the Emergency Department.

ABSTRACT:

Background/objective

We described characteristics and treatment received for older (≥60 years) vs younger (<60 years) adult emergency department (ED) patients with suicide risk.

Design

Retrospective chart review.

Setting

An ED with universal screening for suicide risk.

Participants

Eligible charts included a random sample of adults (≥18 years) who screened positive for suicidal ideation (SI) in past 2 weeks and/or a suicide attempt (SA) within the past 6 months. Visit dates were from May 2014 to September 2016.

Results

A total of 800 charts were reviewed, with oversampling of older adults. Of the 200 older adults sampled, fewer older adults compared to younger adults (n = 600) had a chief complaint involving psychiatric behavior (53% vs 70%) or self-harm

SUBMITTER: Arias SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5641238 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature