Characterization Of Suicidal Behavior Among Patients 2 To 17 Years Old Who Attended The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation Psychiatry Clinic From 1st January 2022 – 31st December 2022

Rationale: Guyana has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. (Shaw et al., 2022). Statistics showed that each year more than 703,000 people die due to suicide globally. (WHO 2019). In her research, Shako revealed that in Guyana, several risk factors for suicide affect our population. The age range between 0-22 had the second highest number of suicide cases compared to ages 23-48. Unfortunately, there are no published statistics for suicidal behavior in patients 10-17 years old in Guyana. Thus, the characteristics of patients with this behavior in this age range are unknown. It is precisely why this research project on suicidal behavior in this population is currently warranted. Objective: This study aims to describe Suicidal behavior among patients 10 to 17 years old attending the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation Psychiatry clinic from January 1st, 2022, to December 31st, 2022. Methodology: A cross-sectional study of patients was done. The sample consisted of 60 patients. The data from patient charts were recorded in an excel file and then read into R Core Team (2022). The information is presented using tables/charts along with descriptive summaries. Fisher’s exact test was used for associations between two variables. Statistical significance is considered as a p-value that is less than 0.05. Prevalence was calculated using the following formula: Total number of suicide patients during the study period/Total number of pediatric patients seen during the study period multiplied by 100. Conclusion: The Prevalence of Suicidal behavior among pediatric patients was 21%. The average age of patients was 14.5 years, with a predominance of females (76.7%). The majority of patients were Indo-Guyanese (49.2%). (76.7%) of them hailed from Region 4. Christians represented (58.3%) of the patients studied. The legal representative who frequently accompanied patients were mothers (38.3%). Most representatives completed secondary school (49.3%) , (31.7%) had a tertiary level of education, and (59.3%) of them were employed. Most patients had no past medical (81.5%) or psychiatric history (60%) associated. No substance use was found (81.4%) of patients. Doctors (55%) referred most patients to the Psychiatry Clinic from hospitals (41%). The Suicide attempt method most frequently was via poisoning, which included overdosing on various medication. Suicide attempts were seen in patients 14 years and over who attended school; of African descent who identified as Christians and were from region 4 with no family psychiatric history.