Staff perceptions of barriers to self-harm care in the emergency department: A cross-sectional survey study.

Background: Emergency departments (EDs) are often the first point of contact for people with self-harm; however, they do not always receive optimal care. The study objective was to examine the perspectives of ED staff who respond to self-harm presentations, perceived barriers to providing optimal, guideline-concordant care, and staff's familiarity with existing guidelines.

Methods: An online cross-sectional survey comprising purpose-designed questions concerning self-harm in the ED was completed by 131 staff (83.