Suicide Risks with Community Crisis Care and with Hospitalization

Crisis stabilization in the home has become an increasingly used alternative to hospitalization in the management of suicide risk in the U.K. In a retrospective, longitudinal analysis, researchers examined the rates of suicide associated with these approaches from 2003 to 2011.

The average suicide rate with at-home stabilization was 14.6/10,000 crisis episodes, greater than rates among hospitalized patients (8.8/10,000 hospital admissions) and community patients in contact with mental health services (7.8/10,000). In the study's final 2 years, with more patients receiving crisis stabilization, rates fell but remained higher than inpatient rates (12.5/10,000 episodes and 6.3/10,000 hospitalizations). A third of all crisis stabilization suicid…