Alcohol, Drugs and Suicide – interactions between misuse in the life course and at the time of death
Dr Karen Galway (QUB) While substance misuse is a recognised risk factor in suicide, relatively little is known about the relationship between lifetime misuse and misuse at the time of suicide. It is widely assumed that many cases of suicide, particularly in young people, are associated with illicit drug use. However an analysis of suicides in Northern Ireland over a two-year period indicates that prescription drugs and alcohol dominate the patterns of substance misuse in such deaths. The study analysed prescribed drug use and all forms of substance misuse at the time of death and cross matched this to any
Findings from the Registry of Self Harm for Northern Ireland
Dr Denise O’Hagan, (QUB) A National Registry of Self-Harm has been operating in the Republic of Ireland since 2002. Under the Northern Ireland (NI) Suicide Strategy a Registry of Self Harm was piloted in the Western Health & Social Care (HSC) Trust area from 2007. The Registry was then implemented across all five HSC Trusts from April 2012. This work is led by the Public Health Agency, in partnership with Trusts and the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF), Cork. The purpose of collecting data for the Registry is to: (i) assess the impact of self-harm and suicidal ideation on health
Self-harm and Help-seeking: Service-User and Practitioner Perspectives
Dr Maggie Long, Dr Roger Manktelow, Dr Anne Tracey (Ulster) Self-harm is a significant public health issue and an important risk factor for suicide, about which there is a lack of Northern Ireland-based research. Self-harm is recognised to be considerably more prevalent than is suggested by reported figures based on hospital emergency department presentations. Self-harm is often a hidden behaviour, and thus the extent of the phenomenon is unknown. Help-seeking is a crucial factor in suicide intervention, yet it is a complex and difficult process for people who self-harm. This presentation reports on the findings from qualitative research, which aimed