Demographic, Socioeconomic and Clinical Determinants of Recurrent Suicide Visits to the Emergency
Department at a Community Hospital

Background: Suicide is the tenth leading cause of overall death in the US. Despite the extensive array of literature about suicide-related visits to the emergency department (ED), little is known about the factors that predict revisits to the hospital for these issues. Thus, we aim to elucidate the demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical characteristics of patients with revisits to the ED for suicide attempt and intentional self-harm. We hypothesize that our preliminary data will show the number of ED revisits for suicide-related events will be higher amongst patients with lower socioeconomic status. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled patients (n=139) who revisited the ED between 2019 and 2021 after an initial ED visit for either a suicide attempt or intentional self-harm. Intentional self-harm is captured because it is a known risk factor for suicide attempts. The variables gathered from medical records include basic social demographics, medical and psychiatric history, family history, preventative visits, frequency of suicide related ED use, and chief complaints for all visits. Results: From a preliminary analysis that looked at 49 of the 139 enrolled participants, we found a trend towards significance between lower socioeconomic status indicated by payer status and increased rate of visits for attempted suicide (γ=0.308, p=0.076). Conclusion: We believe our preliminary findings reflect the current understanding of the demographic risk factors that contribute to increased suicide-related revisits to the hospital. With further analysis, we hope to soon elucidate interventions that could reduce the risk of revisits to the ED for suicide attempt or intentional self-harm.