• To understand the traumatic effects of suicide on families, friends and healthcare professionals
• To enhance your awareness of the factors that affect suicide risk
• To support you to risk assess and manage patients who present with self-harm
Suicide is a tragic event that has traumatic and far-reaching effects on families, friends and healthcare professionals, for whom feelings of guilt, blame and regret are common. Although there have been reductions in suicide rates globally and in the UK over past decades, it remains one of the leading causes of death. Assessing and supporting people who present with self-harm and risk of suicide are essential aspects of all nurses’ clinical practice. This article explains the relationship between suicide, self-harm and other risk factors. It also provides guidance for general nurses on evidence-based approaches to managing self-harm and assessing suicide risk collaboratively with service users.
Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2022.e11911
Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software
Correspondence Conflict of interestNone declared
Haddad M, Young N (2022) Self-harm and suicide: occurrence, risk assessment and management for general nurses. Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2022.e11911
Published online: 03 May 2022
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