November 22, 2005 (Tuesday)
Time: 12:30 – 14:00 (sandwich lunch from 12:30 –12:45; seminar begins at 12:45)
Venue: Seminar Room 6, LG/F, Laboratory Block, Faculty of Medicine Building, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

Abstract:
Previous work suggests that many individuals who die by suicide visit their primary care physicians within weeks of their death. In addition to their visits to primary care physicians, a recent British study found that 39% of suicide completers visited a local Emergency Department (ED) within a year of death (Gairin et al., 2003) of whom 69% sought help for non-suicide-related reasons. Given the potential consequences of a missed opportunity to identify and treat the seriously suicidal, it is important to identify markers of occult suicidality within medical visits, if they exist.

This presentation will overview research on medical patient help-seeking prior to suicide. In addition, recent research on help-seeking prior to nonfatal suicide attempt will be reviewed to describe medical presentation, clinical course, psychopathology and visit outcome. In this latter study (n=1590 ED patients), structured review of the medical records, nursing notes, and physician chart revealed that over 2/3rds of actively suicidal patients went undetected and were discharged without referral. The study also raises the possibility that many potentially suicidal patients may be identified with simple questioning procedures during routine medical visits.

Bio-sketch:
Dr Cindy Claassen is a clinical psychologist doing research with the Mood and Anxiety Research Program and Clinic at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. Her current research is in the area of assessment and treatment of acute suicidal states. She is the former Director of Psychology at Parkland Hospital. Currently, she holds academic appointments in Psychiatry and the Graduate School Faculty (Clinical & Rehabilitation Psychology) at the UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr Claassen has an extensive amount of clinical experience in dealing with patients with mood disorders.

Registration:
For registration and enquiries, please call Ms Maggie Cheuk of MHRN at 2819-2841 or email mhrn@hkusua.hku.hk