Predictive Accuracy of Risk Tools for Repeat Self-Harm. VERSION 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Predictive Accuracy of Risk Tools for Repeat Self-Harm: Cohort Study
IRAS ID
123384
Contact name
Navneet Kapur
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Research summary
Nurses and doctors in mental health services ask a series of different questions in order to assess people who self-harm. These are commonly called risk scales. There is little evidence to show which scales are best. Clinicians are unsure of what scales to use as many of the research studies have small numbers of participants and the studies are with different patient groups. Also, there are few studies comparing different scales at the same time.
The aim of this NIHR funded study is to find out which risk scales are the most useful at helping to identify future self-harm episodes. We also wish to find out service users’ and clinicians ‘ views on the use of the scales as part of routine practice. People aged 18 or over who present to participating centers with self-harm (Manchester, Oxford, Derby, Bristol, and Brighton) will be invited to participate in the study, and we aim to recruit around 500 people in total.
We chose the best scales from a careful review of the international literature. The risk scales we are testing are: (1) The Manchester Self-Harm Rule; (2) The Barrett Impulsivity Scale; and (3) The Modified SAD PERSONS. Because the Manchester Self-Harm Rule and the Modified SAD PERSONS have different versions, we are going to test the original and revised versions.
Routinely collected demographic and clinical information will be collected, and we will identify repeat self-harm episodes after six months from the patients’ medical records. In addition, we will obtain anonymised data on an unselected sample of people who have self-harmed in order to provide additional information about context and generalizability. The results of this study will provide evidence to inform the National Suicide Prevention Strategy in England and we hope our findings will improve services for people who self-harm.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/NW/0838
Date of REC Opinion
16 Dec 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion