@article{ref1,
title="Assessment and management of self-harm and suicide risk in young people",
journal="BMJ",
year="2024",
author="Mughal, Faraz and Ougrin, Dennis and Stephens, Lucy and Vijayakumar, Lakshmi and Kapur, Nav",
volume="386",
number="",
pages="e073515-e073515",
abstract="A 16 year old girl visits her general practitioner (GP) with her mother and describes how she is being bullied at school and how she has felt more anxious as a result. The GP notices a cut on her left wrist.   A 23 year old man is brought into the emergency department by paramedics after taking an overdose of paracetamol at home a few hours earlier.   In both cases, the doctor wants to know how to adequately assess the self-harm episode and how best to help the young person.   Self-harm and suicide in young people are growing and serious public health concerns. Young people can present with self-harm or suicidal thoughts in all clinical contexts. However, the frontline settings of general practice and emergency care allow for early identification and intervention. Managing self-harm or suicidal thoughts in young people is a daily reality for many GPs and non-mental health clinicians. In this practice pointer, we outline how GPs and non-mental health clinicians can assess and manage young people aged 12-25 after self-harm or suicidal thoughts. Our approach is informed by the 2022 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline for managing self-harm.1 How common is self-harm and suicide in young people?  The NICE definition of self-harm is intentional self-poisoning or injury irrespective of the apparent purpose.1 This definition encompasses self-harm with or without suicidal intent and examples of self-harm include cutting, medication overdose, burning, or hair pulling.2  Self-harm is common among young people, with a pooled 17% lifetime prevalence of self-harm in adolescents aged 12-18.3 Self-cutting is the most common (45%) type of self-harm, followed by head …<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0959-535X",
doi="10.1136/bmj-2022-073515",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2022-073515"
}