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15/11/2023 - Institutional news

PERMANENS: Enabling Precision Medicine Software for Personalized Evaluation and Management of Suicide Risk at the Emergency Department

Evidence shows an annual loss of 34.6 million life-years globally due to suicide. In response to this, globally renowned institutions specialized in mental health and suicide research, in collaboration with experts in bioinformatics, have launched PERMANENS, a pioneering European research initiative.

The PERMANENS research project is dedicated to create a medical software prototype that supports clinicians in delivering personalized assessments and care to patients arriving at the emergency department with an elevated risk of self-harm or suicide. This precision medicine software will harness the power of artificial intelligence to provide more accurate risk assessments and access to evidence-based information, enabling the identification of effective treatment options tailored to each patient's unique needs and risk profile.

Many individuals, especially young people, go through episodes of self-harm, but a significant number of them do not receive the treatment they need, leaving them vulnerable for risk of suicide. Emergency departments play a crucial role in addressing this issue, as they are often the first point of contact with medical professionals after an episode of self-harm. However, relying solely on clinician assessments and standardized scales proves inadequate in accurately identifying patients at the highest risk of recurring self-harm and suicide.

The PERMANENS project, with its focus on transnational registry data analysis, precise risk prediction model development, and the creation of a clinical knowledge base of evidence-based interventions, is dedicated to facilitating personalized care and timely interventions. By leveraging these advancements, the initiative aims to effectively prevent adverse outcomes among individuals struggling with self-harm. The software prototype will be developed collaboratively with patients and clinicians to ensure its usability, practicality, and acceptance. By tailoring interventions to individuals' specific needs, PERMANENS enhances the likelihood of patients initiating and sustaining effective mental health treatment. Through these efforts, the initiative strives to significantly reduce self-harm and suicide rates within the population.

The PERMANENS consortium is coordinated by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute (Barcelona, Spain; principal investigator [PI] Philippe Mortier) and consists further of the University of Oslo (Norway; PI Ping Qin), Karolinska Institute (Sweden; PI Johan Bjureberg), University College Cork-National Suicide Research Foundation (Ireland; PI Ella Arensman), and the Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona, Spain; PI Manuel Pastor). The consortium hereby brings together expertise in clinical mental health research, public health, biostatistics, and biomedical informatics.

The Hospital del Mar Research Institute is leading this project with the support of its partner institutions. More information about PERMANENS can be found on the official website: www.permanens.eu.

PERMAENS research team.

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