Evaluation of lockable medicine storage boxes as an intervention for self-injurious behavior with poisoning among young people
This project aims to evaluate whether providing adolescents who were admitted due to poisoning with a lock box free of charge is an effective intervention to prevent further episodes of self-harm.
Self-poisoning in children and young people
A continuous increase in hospital admissions of children and adolescents following self-poisoning due to medicine overdose has been observed in Sweden since 2016. This trend was observed specifically among girls aged 10-18 years old. Interventions that can prevent repeated self-harm behaviours are needed as studies show that young people who engaged in self-poisoning have a high risk of repeating self-harm behaviours and being re-admitted to the hospital.
Means restriction to prevent self-harm behaviour
Means restriction is a strategy to prevent self-harm and suicidal behaviours by reducing access to methods used for self-harming or suicide. It is often a highly effective method in preventing more impulsive self-destructive acts. In the context of self-poisoning, safe medicine storage has been proposed as one effective intervention. It is standard procedure at psychiatric departments in Sweden that health care personnel advise families of children who have been admitted to the hospital due to self-poisoning to purchase a lock box for safe medicine storage at home. However, studies show that only a low percentage of families actually go on to purchase a lockbox or have a secure place for medicine storage at home. Providing families of adolescents admitted for self-poisoning with lockboxes free of charge could constitute a low-cost and low-risk intervention for preventing repeated self-harm episodes with poisoning in young people.