Led by Professor Seena Fazel, the Centre for Suicide Research in the Department of Psychiatry, investigates the extent, nature and causes of self-harm and suicide, with the aim of translating the findings into implications for prevention, treatment and support.
On World Suicide Prevention Day, see below a summary of some of our recent published research and activities.
Ligature-related deaths in prison
A new report on the epidemiology and prevention of ligature-related deaths in prison has been published by the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC). Professor Fazel is an expert member of the panel and DPhil student Rachel Chow co-authored the report. They analysed 25 years of mortality data to examine associations and trends, and a scoping review of the international evidence. Professor Fazel said:
A key implication is that these deaths are preventable - and a national strategy to remove ligatures across the prison estate is required. Delegating to local governors is not the most effective use of limited resources on building repairs - there is a need to target prisons with most deaths and potential impact greatest.
We suggest other suicide prevention measures, including reducing self-harm incidence - which has been increasing over the last decade - and identifying and treating severe mental illness. Both are underlying risk factors for suicide mortality.”
Read a blog by Professor Fazel and Rachel Chow on improving suicide prevention for people in prison in Daily 27.
Suicide risk in primary care
In a study led by UCL, Professor Fazel was part of a team looking at suicide risk in primary care, an area often overlooked in suicide research (which typically focuses on people identified by specialist services). They followed up 1.4 million people diagnosed with common mental disorders over 20 years. Published in eClinicalMedicine, the findings highlight that the one-size-fits-all approach to suicide risk assessment is not evidence-based, and that there were clear differences by age, sex at birth and primary care diagnosis.
Read an article in the Times of Malta on proactive suicide prevention featuring the work of Professor Fazel.
Self-harm risk assessment
A study was published on OxSET, a risk model developed by the team to assess risk of repeat self-harm after someone presents to hospital with a self-harm episode. It was developed and validated using Swedish national data from over 50,000 individuals. Read more in BMJ Mental Health.
