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. 2018 Mar 6;18(1):157.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-018-2963-7.

Substance use and self-harm: a cross-sectional study of the prevalence, correlates and patterns of medical service utilisation among patients admitted to a South African hospital

Elsie Breet  1 , Jason Bantjes  2 , Ian Lewis  3
Affiliations

Substance use and self-harm: a cross-sectional study of the prevalence, correlates and patterns of medical service utilisation among patients admitted to a South African hospital

Elsie Breet et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Background: Substance use is a potentially modifiable risk factor for suicidal behaviour. Little is known about the epidemiology of substance use among self-harm patients in South Africa. This study set out to collect epidemiological data about the prevalence, correlates, and patterns of medical service utilisation among self-harm patients who used substances at the time of self-injury.

Methods: Data from 238 consecutive self-harm patients treated at an urban hospital in South Africa were analysed using bivariate and multivariate statistics.

Results: Approximately 20% of patients reported substance use at the time of self-harm. When compared to other self-harm patients, higher rates of patients who had used substances: had depressed levels of consciousness on admission; utilised more medical resources and required longer hospital admissions; cited relationship difficulties and financial concerns as reasons for their self-harm; reported a previous episode of self-harm; and intended to die as a result of their injuries. Although the observed differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05), the proportional differences were congruent with international literature.

Conclusion: Acute use of substances among self-harm patients warrants more focused research and clinical attention particularly in the context of reducing utilisation of scarce medical resources.

Keywords: Acute use of substances; Medical service utilisation; Self-harm; Substance use; Suicidal behaviour.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approval for this study was granted by the Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee: at Stellenbosch University (reference number: N13/05/074) and University of Cape Town (reference number: 645/2013). Written permission was granted by the hospital before patient records were accessed. Each participant signed a written consent to participate in this study.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

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Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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