Self-mutilation and suicide in the military: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

As one of the three leading causes of death in people between the ages of 15 and 44 years old, suicide is, according to data from WHO, responsible annually for a million deaths. These numbers do not include suicide attempts, that are usually 10 to 20 times more frequent than suicide itself. This systematic review proposes to gather relevant information on the topic of self-harm and suicide in the Army, following the PRISMA-P statement for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols. This systematic review protocol was developed to present suitable guidelines for the development of research that can provide results to fulfil the sought objective. The search will cover the dates between 2014 and May 2019. Five databases will be accessed (SCOPUS, PubMed, Science Direct, EBSCOhost and Web of Science) with a total of six keyword combinations. The Cochrane Collaboration Tool will assess study selection and quality for determining the risk of bias.