Shomporko Desk:-New data shows thousands of Canadians were hospitalized or died after intentionally hurting themselves last year, and experts dread the numbers will climb because of strain added on through the pandemic.
Research released Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) found that 25,000 individuals were admitted to the hospital or died as a result of self-hurt in 2018-19. Around 3,800 of them died.
Hospitalization rates were most elevated among young ladies and ladies matured 10-24, who were multiple times bound to be in the hospital because of self-hurt than guys in that equivalent age class.
Passing rates from self-destruction were most elevated among men 45 years and more established.
he data was collected before the global spread of COVID-19, which has triggered heightened anxiety over health risks, prolonged confinement and financial insecurity. CIHI said its data will serve as a baseline for studying the impact of the pandemic on mental health.
Tracy Johnson, CIHI’s director of health system analysis and emerging issues, said the pre-COVID numbers are cause for concern and could rise.
Johnson says the data suggests many people are not getting, or don’t know how to access community care. About one in nine people hospitalized for self-harm had had two or more hospital stays for self-harm in a year.
“People are showing up in emergency departments and they’re showing up in hospitals. That’s kind of a place of last resort,” she said.
“That says to me that these people require more help than they’re getting.”
The figures don’t include people who went to emergency rooms and weren’t admitted to the hospital or those who got help from primary health-care providers, such as a family doctor, clinic or other local services.
The research was conducted as part of a pan-Canadian multi-year program through federal, provincial and territorial governments that aim to better understand health priorities and improve access to home and community care, including mental health and addictions services.
According to the latest data, people living in the lowest-income neighbourhoods had twice the rate of hospital stays (104 per 100,000 people) compared to those living in the highest-income neighbourhoods (49 per 100,000).
Residents in rural or remote areas were also more likely to have a hospital stay for self-harm (74 per 100,000) compared with those in urban areas (63 per 100,000).
Photo credit: Shutterstock
News source: CBC News
