Patterns in health service use during and up to 1 year after an acute episode of hospital-presenting self-harm: data linkage cohort study of over 1.3 million records

Abstract

Background Many people presenting to emergency departments after self-harm do not receive adequate care, even in well-resourced health systems. Aims To identify patterns of health care service use across two periods: (a) during and (b) up to 1 year after an index emergency department self-harm presentation. Method A retrospective population-based cohort study including 4668 individuals aged ≥9 years who presented to the Royal Melbourne Hospital emergency department for self-harm between January 2012 and December 2019. Linked administrative data captured >1.3 million records across primary care, pharmacy, specialist mental and physical health services and emergency departments. Sequential pat..