Self-harm throughout all life cycles: profile of victims using urgent and emergency care services in Brazilian state capitals.

The aim of the study was to characterize the profile of victims of self-inflicted injuries, who were attended at urgent and emergency care services in Brazilian state capitals, by using the "Viva Survey" database of 2014. Descriptive statistics of the self-inflicted injuries by gender, as well as logistic regression analysis, were performed. The evaluated characteristics were age, gender, race/skin color, education, area of residence, characteristics of the event, alcohol use and the outcome of the case. The results showed that almost 10% of the surveyed cases that were treated by emergency medical services in relation to violence were due to self-inflicted injuries: of particular note were the cases involving females and adults. Gender differences were found, including some that were related to the method chosen to commit suicide. It was not possible to evaluate some factors that are generally associated with suicide attempts because the necessary information was not within the scope of the instrument used for data collection. It was concluded that emergency medical services are very important in terms of studies regarding suicide because they are the gateway to such cases. However, given its sensitive nature, the information issued by emergency medical services is very restricted. Consequently, patients need appropriate follow-up to prevent further suicide attempts.