ArticleAfrican journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence2024
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on presentations with suicidal behaviour in a tertiary hospital Emergency Centre in the Eastern Cape, South Africa-A cross-sectional analysis.
Article in African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Introduction: Suicidal behaviour is a public health emergency, causing an estimated one million deaths globally each year. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicidal behaviour is not fully understood. This study aimed to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on presentations with suicidal behaviour at a tertiary hospital in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Method: This study was a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of patients with fatal and nonfatal suicidal behaviour who presented to Frere Hospital Emergency Centre in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The analysis included three study periods: August to October 2019 (pre-COVID-19), August to October 2020 (wave 1), and August to October 2021(wave 3). Results: A total of 16 419 patients presented to the Frere Hospital Emergency Centre during the study period, with 6 204 in 2019, 4 909 in 2020, and 5 306 in 2021. These correspond to the research periods from August to October for each successive year. The overall prevalence of suicidal behaviour was 1.6 % but decreased marginally during the pandemic (1.8 % in 2019 vs. 1.4 % in 2021) - contrary to what occurred in high-income countries. The prevalence demonstrated a clinically insignificant stepwise decline as the pandemic progressed and was inversely associated with the number of daily new COVID-19 cases nationally. A significant increase in the emergency centre's total length of stay was however observed during the COVID-19 period (143 vs. 80 min, Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic marginally reduced the prevalence of presentations with suicidal behaviour to the Emergency Centre, contrary to what was observed in high-income countries.
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