Self-Harm wEb Portal Cymru (SHeP-Cymru)

Self-harm is an important public health and social care problem covering a spectrum of behaviours and intents. Assessing and reducing the risks and needs of people who self-harm is potentially one of the most important objectives for suicide prevention strategies.

Currently there is no monitoring of self-harm beyond emergency department attendance for planning of wider service provision. Most people who self-harm are managed in general practice or seek no help at all and are not represented by current research or practice. The support needed by individuals who self-harm goes beyond that provided by health services including support with housing, employment and support for families.

The aim of this study is to develop an innovative web-based platform for self-harm research. Such a platform will allow participants both known and unknown to services to contribute to research in a safe and ethical manner.

Consent will be sought from Welsh residents to link information gained via the web-portal with routinely collected data in the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank. This innovative design will allow service provision to be informed by both routinely collected data that can go beyond emergency department attendance (incorporating contact with general practitioners and hospital admissions) and, by individuals themselves, including those who remain unknown to services. In addition individuals will be asked to contribute sources of information and advice that they have consulted in any form (e.g. books, websites etc) to a secure database, allowing the quality of these resources to be assessed.

A methodology will be developed for assessing the impact of quality and quantity of media exposure on behaviour at both a group and individual level. Such a design will provide a unique platform for future research and recruitment with the potential for creating the most comprehensive picture to date of individuals who self-harm.