The purposes of this study were to describe suicidal persons who come to the emergency
department (ED) and to examine the relationship between clinical and health service
characteristics and decisions regarding post-ED care. Data were collected from three
hospital EDs by means of a retrospective review of records. During the 1-month study
period, 163 ED visits were for suicidal ideation (f = 110) or behavior (f = 53). The mean age of the patients was 36.5 years (range = 5–87 years); 51% were
female patients. Clinical decisions about post-ED care tended to be cautious, regardless
of a patient's level of suicidality, with 71% of patients either transferred for psychiatric
evaluation or admitted to the psychiatric unit. Emergency department staff tended
to be slightly more conservative than mental health professionals, but the difference
in their decisions about disposition was not significant.
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