ArticleBJPsych open2026
Cost of acute hospital treatment and initial aftercare for hospital-presenting self-harm in Ireland: national registry study.
Article in BJPsych open, 2026. 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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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUnderstanding the economic cost of self-harm is essential for evaluating intervention cost-effectiveness and guiding funding allocation and service planning.
aimsTo estimate the cost associated with self-harm presentations to hospital emergency departments and investigate key predictors of cost.
methodData on presentations to hospital for self-harm in all Irish emergency departments were analysed for 2018 and 2019. Costs of hospital treatment following self-harm were identified (in 2019 euros) using top-down and bottom-up approaches. The perspective taken was that of the health service. Factors associated with costs were investigated using generalised linear models.
resultsThere were 25 053 self-harm presentations from 2018 to 2019. The average annual cost of self-harm was approximately €26.5 million; almost half of the total cost was due to repeat self-harm presentations (47.3%). The mean cost per presentation was €2117 (s.d. €1845), which incorporates acute hospital costs (mean €2067, s.d. €2127) and those of initial aftercare (mean €50, s.d. €69). Psychiatric and medical admissions were associated with highest costs, three times that of presentations resulting in emergency department discharge (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 3.01, 95% CI 2.72-3.36 and IRR 2.88, 95% CI 2.72-3.36, respectively). Other factors associated with higher costs included older age, emergency department medical assessment unit admission, receiving a psychosocial assessment and self-harm involving a firearm. Demographic and clinical predictors of cost varied according to care pathway.
conclusionsSignificant costs associated with repeat attendances and hospital admission provide evidence for investment in emergency department services providing comprehensive care for those presenting with self-harm, as well as in community-based mental health services.
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