National Self-Harm Registry Ireland

Data Collection Type
National data collections of health and social care in Ireland
Organisation

National Suicide Research Foundation, Department of Health, HSE

Year established

1995 — at regional level.
2006 — all hospital emergency departments included.

Statement of purpose

The aims of the National Self-Harm Registry Ireland are:

  • to establish the extent and nature of hospital-treated self-harm in Ireland
  • to monitor trends over time and by area 
  • to contribute to policy development in the area of suicidal behaviour 
  • to help the progress of research and prevention.
Coverage

National. All hospital-treated episodes of self-harm are recorded by the Registry.

Description

The National Self-Harm Registry Ireland is a national system of population monitoring for the occurrence of self-harm in Ireland.

Data content

Includes detail of the presentation including: date and hour of attendance at hospital; brought to hospital by ambulance; method(s) of self-harm; drugs taken; Medical Card status; recommended next care. Patient details including area of residence, gender and age.

Data providers

Irish hospital emergency departments.

Data collection methodology

Data for self-harm presentations are recorded at the presenting hospital by registry data registration officers. Data is transferred electronically to the offices of the NSRF.

Data dictionary
Clinical coding scheme

Method(s) of self-harm are recorded according to WHO’s International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).

Size of national collection

Approximately 11,000 records created on average annually (presentations).

Publication frequency

The findings from the National Self-Harm Registry Ireland are disseminated each year via an annual report. In addition to this, interim reports are published every six months. Registry data is also published in peer-reviewed publications. Periodic reports are prepared for relevant agencies (e.g. National Office for Suicide Prevention). A list of Registry-related publications is accessible via www.nsrf.ie 

Accessing data

Data can be accessed via annual and interim reports. Aggregate data is also available, on request.

Open data portal access

No

Email contact
Telephone contact
Other comments

In 2015, the National Self-Harm Registry Ireland was recognised by the World Health Organization as a template for self-harm surveillance for countries at global level. The Registry template was used to produce a Practice Manual for Establishing and Maintaining Surveillance Systems for Suicide Attempts and Self-Harm (WHO, 2016).