ArticleBMC psychiatry2025
Suicidality among inpatients who absconded from a tertiary mental health facility in Uganda: a retrospective study.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- District health management teams as champions for implementing the WHO LIVE LIFE suicide-prevention framework in Rural Uganda: a pre-implementation qualitative study.Implementation science communications · 2026Article
- Suicidality and associated factors among people living with mental illness attending an outpatient clinic at a tertiary hospital in Uganda.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
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2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSuicidality and absconding from psychiatric care are two critical phenomena that complicate mental health care in developing countries. The aim of this study was twofold. First, to determine the prevalence of suicidality among absconders over two decades. Secondly, we set out to determine overall factors that influence the likelihood of having suicidal behaviors among absconders, as well as factors specific to each diagnosis.
methodsThis was a retrospective chart review of files of patients who absconded from inpatient psychiatric care at a tertiary psychiatric facility in southwestern Uganda between 2000 and 2020. A pre-tested electronic questionnaire was used for data abstraction of sociodemographic characteristics, documented suicidality, and other clinical variables. Data cleaning and analysis were conducted using STATA V.17. Logistic regression was performed for factors associated with suicidality.
resultsAmong the absconders, 9.5% exhibited suicidality. Factors that heightened the odds of suicidality among absconders included being divorced or separated (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.00, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.20-3.31, p = 0.007), having depression (aOR = 5.41, 95% CI: 2.47-11.82, p < 0.001), a history of substance use (aOR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.01-2.23, p = 0.049), and experiencing violence before hospitalization (aOR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.14-2.94, p = 0.013). In contrast, substance use disorder (aOR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.10-0.62, p = 0.003) and having schizophrenic spectrum disorders (aOR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.18-0.68, p = 0.002) were linked to a decreased likelihood of suicidality among those who absconded.
conclusionThis study reveals a high burden of suicidality among individuals who abscond, with important risk factors such as marital status, depression, and a history of experiencing violence. It was noted that substance use disorder and schizophrenia spectrum disorders are associated with a reduced suicide risk. This study shows a significant interplay between clinical and demographic factors in predicting suicidality.
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