Access to this article is restricted until 12 months after publication by request of the publisher.. Restriction lift date: 2018-04-25
The paradox of public holidays: Hospital-treated self-harm and associated factors
| dc.check.date | 2018-04-25 | |
| dc.check.info | Access to this article is restricted until 12 months after publication by request of the publisher. | en |
| dc.contributor.author | Griffin, Eve | |
| dc.contributor.author | Dillon, Christina B. | |
| dc.contributor.author | O'Regan, Grace | |
| dc.contributor.author | Corcoran, Paul | |
| dc.contributor.author | Perry, Ivan J. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Arensman, Ella | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-01-03T11:43:40Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-01-03T11:43:40Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017-04-25 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2017-12-19T12:50:53Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | Recent research on the patterns of self-harm around public holidays is lacking. This study used national data to examine the patterns of hospital-treated self-harm during public holidays, and to examine associated factors. Data on self-harm presentations to all emergency departments were obtained from the National Self-Harm Registry Ireland. The association between self-harm presentations and public holidays was examined using univariate and multivariate Poisson regression analyses. A total of 104,371 presentations of self-harm were recorded between 2007 and 2015. The mean number of self-harm presentations was 32 on public holidays. St. Patrick's Day had the highest number of presentations compared to all other public holidays, with a daily mean of 44 presentations. Across all years, self-harm presentations during public holidays had a 24% increased risk of involving alcohol consumption compared to all other days and this effect was most pronounced during the Christmas period. The association with alcohol remained significant at a multivariate level. Presentations on public holidays were more likely to attend out of normal working hours. An increase in male presentations involving self-cutting was observed on public holidays and there was an over-representation of males presenting for the first time. It is likely that extent of alcohol involvement in self-harm presentations reported here is an underestimate, as it was dependent on the information being recorded by the attending clinician. Public holidays are associated with an elevated number of self-harm presentations to hospital, with presentations to hospital involving alcohol significantly increased on these days. Hospital resources should be targeted to address increases during public holidays, including during out-of-hours. Involvement of alcohol may delay delivery of care to these patients in emergency settings. | en |
| dc.description.status | Peer reviewed | en |
| dc.description.version | Accepted Version | en |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | en |
| dc.identifier.citation | Griffin, E., Dillon, C. B., O'Regan, G., Corcoran, P., Perry, I. J. and Arensman, E. (2017) 'The paradox of public holidays: Hospital-treated self-harm and associated factors', Journal of Affective Disorders, 218, pp. 30-34. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2017.04.058 | en |
| dc.identifier.doi | 10.1016/j.jad.2017.04.058 | |
| dc.identifier.endpage | 34 | en |
| dc.identifier.issn | 0165-0327 | |
| dc.identifier.journaltitle | Journal of Affective Disorders | en |
| dc.identifier.startpage | 30 | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10468/5214 | |
| dc.identifier.volume | 218 | en |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.publisher | Elsevier B.V. | en |
| dc.rights | © 2017, Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ | en |
| dc.subject | Self-harm | en |
| dc.subject | Public holidays | en |
| dc.subject | Alcohol consumption | en |
| dc.subject | Mental health | en |
| dc.title | The paradox of public holidays: Hospital-treated self-harm and associated factors | en |
| dc.type | Article (peer-reviewed) | en |
