Self-harm-related mental health presentations to emergency departments by children and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse groups in South Western Sydney
James Rufus John,
Jahidur Rahman Khan,
Paul M. Middleton,
Yao Huang,
Daniel Ping-I Lin,
Nan Hu,
Bin Jalaludin,
Paul Chay,
Raghu Lingam,
Valsamma Eapen
Affiliations
James Rufus John
School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; and Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
Jahidur Rahman Khan
School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Paul M. Middleton
Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia; South Western Emergency Research Institute, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia; and School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Yao Huang
Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia; and South Western Emergency Research Institute, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
Daniel Ping-I Lin
School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; and South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
Nan Hu
School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Bin Jalaludin
Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia; and School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Paul Chay
School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; and South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
Raghu Lingam
School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia; and South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
Background Rates of self-harm among children and young people (CYP) have been on the rise, presenting major public health concerns in Australia and worldwide. However, there is a scarcity of evidence relating to self-harm among CYP from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. Aims To analyse the relationship between self-harm-related mental health presentations of CYP to emergency departments and CALD status in South Western Sydney (SWS), Australia. Method We analysed electronic medical records of mental health-related emergency department presentations by CYP aged between 10 and up to 18 years in six public hospitals in the SWS region from January 2016 to March 2022. A multilevel logistic regression model was used on these data to assess the association between self-harm-related presentations and CALD status while adjusting for covariates and individual-level clustering. Results Self-harm accounted for 2457 (31.5%) of the 7789 mental health-related emergency department presentations by CYP; CYP from a CALD background accounted for only 8% (n = 198) of the self-harm-related presentations. CYP from the lowest two most socioeconomic disadvantaged areas made 63% (n = 1544) of the total self-harm-related presentations. Findings of the regression models showed that CYP from a CALD background (compared with those from non-CALD backgrounds) had 19% lower odds of self-harm (adjusted odds ratio 0.81, 95% CI 0.66–0.99). Conclusions Findings of this study provide insights into the self-harm-related mental health presentations and other critical clinical features related to CYP from CALD backgrounds that could better inform health service planning and policy to manage self-harm presentations and mental health problems among CYP.
