Self-harm in Children and Young People from Diverse Backgrounds
Author Information
Author(s): John James Rufus, Khan Jahidur Rahman, Middleton Paul M., Huang Yao, Lin Daniel Ping-I, Hu Nan, Jalaludin Bin, Chay Paul, Lingam Raghu, Eapen Valsamma
Primary Institution: School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Hypothesis
There will be a significant association between self-harm-related mental health emergency department presentations and CALD status.
Conclusion
CYP from CALD backgrounds had lower odds of self-harm-related mental health presentations compared to those from non-CALD backgrounds.
Supporting Evidence
- Self-harm accounted for 31.5% of mental health-related emergency department presentations.
- CYP from CALD backgrounds made only 8% of self-harm-related presentations.
- 63% of self-harm-related presentations came from the two most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.
- During the COVID-19 period, self-harm-related presentations increased to 35.7%.
Takeaway
The study looked at kids who hurt themselves and found that those from different cultural backgrounds were less likely to go to the hospital for help.
Methodology
The study analyzed electronic medical records of mental health-related emergency department presentations by CYP aged 10 to 18 years in six public hospitals from January 2016 to March 2022 using multilevel logistic regression.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to unmeasured confounders and the definition of CALD status.
Limitations
The study is limited to data from six public hospitals and does not account for community encounters or other hospitals.
Participant Demographics
CYP aged 10 to 17 years, with 63.2% female and 9.2% from CALD backgrounds.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.81
Confidence Interval
0.66–0.99
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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