Abstract

There has been extensive discussion, some of it data-based1 but much of it speculative, on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide.

Since death by suicide requires thorough investigation by professionals, such as coroners, collecting timely data on these deaths is challenging.

Self-harm, an important public health concern in its own right, often precedes suicide, and can be used as a proxy outcome to identify how the pandemic has affected population mental health.

Citations

Nav Kapur, Caroline Clements, Louis Appleby, Keith Hawton, Sarah Steeg, Keith Waters, Roger Webb. Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-harm. Lancet Psychiatry 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30528-9

URI: https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/orka/title/effects-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-self-harm/