<p>Based off an answer from the medical lead of my department, a comment above, some CDC data (<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/suicide-data-statistics.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/suicide-data-statistics.html</a>), and a bit of pondering: I more or less have an answer.</p>
<ol>
<li>First of all, it appears the majority of statistics come from self reporting, with a small portion involving hospitalizations.:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/kfGRC.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/kfGRC.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></li>
<li>Secondly, whether or not a report is put in appears to be somewhat discretionary: which is to say, not every psychiatric hospitalization necessarily counts as an attempt.</li>
</ol>
<p>Further, given the overwhelming majority that self-reports have to hospitalizations, the exact specifics of how/when hospitals report can be given a bit more tolerance.  Even at a tolerance of +/25%, they still only account for 10-15% of reports.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-30T05:26:40.920Z
The question asked about suicide attempts, so I think the 275 who "seriously considered" suicide need to be excluded from the calculations.
Carey Gregory
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-01T01:25:51.830Z
Regarding suicide, people admitted to a psychiatric facility from the ED (voluntarily or not) belong to two groups: depression (or other MI) with suicidal ideation, and attempted suicide. (We also 302 for other mental illnesses, e.g. psychotic breaks, etc.) But unless someone has actually attempted suicide and failed, it's not attempted suicide. The woman in labor who's afraid of pain who took a whole bottle of Tylenol, though she might have died, is not an attempted suicide, she's a ACAP overdose. The person who held a gun to his head but didn't pull the trigger is...
anongoodnurse
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-01T01:35:27.307Z
...suicidal ideation with means, aborted attempt. The person who makes a few superficial lacerations to their wrists with a knife or a piece of glass is a suicidal ideation with cry for help. The person who drinks bleach really thinking it will kill them is an attempt. So an attempt is an attempt. If they're alive, it's a failed attempt.
anongoodnurse
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-03T07:34:20.573Z
Note that if you are concerned with interpreting the literature, you need to read each and every paper for their methodology, as they need not follow standards set by eg CDC
Bryan Krause
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-29T19:12:04.457Z
2022-09-29T19:12:04.457Z
Seph Reed
<p>There is something called the &quot;gender paradox&quot; which relates to <a href="https://cams-care.com/resources/educational-content/gender-statistics-in-suicide-behavior/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">differences in suicide attempt and suicide death rates between genders</a>.</p>
<p>A very important piece of information I've been searching for is the definition of &quot;suicide attempts.&quot;  More importantly, how and when they are reported.</p>
<p>As a firefighter/EMR, I've had my fair share of calls, and am wondering which of these four would count as a suicide attempts:</p>
<ul>
<li>person expresses intent to friend/family, 911 called, denies intent, scene left</li>
<li>person expresses intent to friend/family, 911 called, admit to intent, taken to mental facility</li>
<li>person found attempting suicide, 911 called, non-urgent medical situation, taken to medical facility</li>
<li>person found attempting suicide, 911 called, life-threatening situation, taken to medical facility</li>
</ul>
<p>Further, is this typically reported by the first responders, hospital, or both?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-29T00:37:24.777Z
I think it's going to depend on jurisdiction. In my little corner of the world, the receiving hospital makes the report. If the EMTs didn't determine it to be suicidal ideation and transport (with or without patient consent), then the assumption is it was not a suicide attempt and no report is made. But I would imagine that protocol varies widely around the world and maybe even state to state in the US, so you might want to specify location.
Carey Gregory
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-29T16:17:38.930Z
I tried asking my departments medical lead.  Their answer was that a no-risk trip to psychiatric was not an attempt.  If the person was on a bridge or holding a weapon, it was.  And anything involving medical intervention was.
Seph Reed
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-01T01:42:17.577Z
I don't think anything is reported except successful suicides, and even those numbers are unreliable. There are coroners who will call a gunshot to the head an accidental suicide so the family can save face, and it happens a lot with mixed drug overdoses that the (successful) suicide is called an accidental drug overdose. I don't think there's any federally mandated reporting of failed attempts. Maybe there are some states that require it.
anongoodnurse
<gender><health-psychology>
When/how are suicide attempts reported?
Seph Reed
# When/how are suicide attempts reported?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-09-28)

There is something called the "gender paradox" which relates to [differences in suicide attempt and suicide death rates between genders](https://cams-care.com/resources/educational-content/gender-statistics-in-suicide-behavior/).

A very important piece of information I've been searching for is the definition of "suicide attempts." More importantly, how and when they are reported.

As a firefighter/EMR, I've had my fair share of calls, and am wondering which of these four would count as a suicide attempts:

* person expresses intent to friend/family, 911 called, denies intent, scene left
* person expresses intent to friend/family, 911 called, admit to intent, taken to mental facility
* person found attempting suicide, 911 called, non-urgent medical situation, taken to medical facility
* person found attempting suicide, 911 called, life-threatening situation, taken to medical facility

Further, is this typically reported by the first responders, hospital, or both?

**Tags:** gender, health-psychology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think it's going to depend on jurisdiction. In my little corner of the world, the receiving hospital makes the report. If the EMTs didn't determine it to be suicidal ideation and transport (with or without patient consent), then the assumption is it was not a suicide attempt and no report is made. But I would imagine that protocol varies widely around the world and maybe even state to state in the US, so you might want to specify location.  
> **username_0**: I tried asking my departments medical lead.  Their answer was that a no-risk trip to psychiatric was not an attempt.  If the person was on a bridge or holding a weapon, it was.  And anything involving medical intervention was.  
> **username_2**: I don't think anything is reported except successful suicides, and even those numbers are unreliable. There are coroners who will call a gunshot to the head an accidental suicide so the family can save face, and it happens a lot with mixed drug overdoses that the (successful) suicide is called an accidental drug overdose. I don't think there's any federally mandated reporting of failed attempts. Maybe there are some states that require it.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2022-09-29. Score: 1

Based off an answer from the medical lead of my department, a comment above, some CDC data (<https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/suicide-data-statistics.html>), and a bit of pondering: I more or less have an answer.

1. First of all, it appears the majority of statistics come from self reporting, with a small portion involving hospitalizations.:
   [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/kfGRC.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/kfGRC.png)
2. Secondly, whether or not a report is put in appears to be somewhat discretionary: which is to say, not every psychiatric hospitalization necessarily counts as an attempt.

Further, given the overwhelming majority that self-reports have to hospitalizations, the exact specifics of how/when hospitals report can be given a bit more tolerance. Even at a tolerance of +/25%, they still only account for 10-15% of reports.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The question asked about suicide attempts, so I think the 275 who "seriously considered" suicide need to be excluded from the calculations.  
> **username_2**: Regarding suicide, people admitted to a psychiatric facility from the ED (voluntarily or not) belong to two groups: depression (or other MI) with suicidal ideation, and attempted suicide. (We also 302 for other mental illnesses, e.g. psychotic breaks, etc.) But unless someone has actually attempted suicide and failed, it's not attempted suicide. The woman in labor who's afraid of pain who took a whole bottle of Tylenol, though she might have died, is not an attempted suicide, she's a ACAP overdose. The person who held a gun to his head but didn't pull the trigger is...  
> **username_2**: ...suicidal ideation with means, aborted attempt. The person who makes a few superficial lacerations to their wrists with a knife or a piece of glass is a suicidal ideation with cry for help. The person who drinks bleach really thinking it will kill them is an attempt. So an attempt is an attempt. If they're alive, it's a failed attempt.  
> **username_3**: Note that if you are concerned with interpreting the literature, you need to read each and every paper for their methodology, as they need not follow standards set by eg CDC  

---

