Epidemiological profile of suicide attempts during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: Suicide is a prevalent public health problem and one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Thus, suicide is a multifactorial phenomenon and there may be an increase in the number of suicide attempts in a pandemic situation due fear, loneliness and social isolation. Objective: To evaluate the epidemiological profile of suicide attempting patients in a public hospital in Criciúma during the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. Methodology: Cross-sectional study, with secondary data collection and a quantitative approach. Data were collected from medical records at a public hospital in Criciúma, SC. The study population consisted of attempted suicide patients from August to December 2020 in a public hospital in Criciúma/SC. Results: Fifty-four medical records of suicide attempt patients were analyzed. It was observed that 68.5% were female, 96.2% were white, mean age 37.44 and 55.6% were single. Exogenous intoxication was present in 77.8% of the cases with a mean hospitalization time of 16 hours. A statistically significant correlation between single marital status and male was observed. Conclusion: This study brings important data seeking to help in the recognition of suicide attempt patients, which can help in future prevention programs that are needed to decrease the rates of suicide attempts.