Hospitalisations for suicidal behaviour: clinical characteristics and nursing care

The care given to people with suicidal behaviour is an important predictor of future death by suicide; however, there is a lack of research on the issue in Brazil. This study investigated hospitalisations for suicidal behaviour (sociodemographic and clinic characteristics, nursing care and associated factors). Data were collected through manual consultation of medical records of patients admitted in 2015 to a psychiatric emergency unit of a hospital, and analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test. Adult women without a partner, with mood disorder, comorbidities, history of previous suicide attempts and who returned to their own homes predominated among the 127 study cases. The most frequent nursing diagnosis was ‘impaired social interaction’. Age and gender were associated with medical diagnoses. Marital status was associated with medical and nursing diagnoses. Changes in psychosocial assessment were associated with current suicidal ideation, number of attempts, and medical diagnoses. The nursing diagnosis ‘risk of self-directed violence’ was associated with thought disorders and self-harm history. This study contributes to the mapping of factors associated with suicidal behaviour, vulnerabilities and associated factors. It also reflects on the potential of nursing interventions in the care and prevention of suicidal behaviour.