The Attitude of Psychiatric and Non-psychiatric Health-care Workers Toward Suicide in Malaysian Hospitals and Its Implications for Training (original) (raw)
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Journal of affective …, 2007
Objective: To evaluate a brief training program on suicide prevention for front-line general hospital personnel in terms of its impact on their attitudes and beliefs towards suicidality. Method: Forty non-clinical (e.g., security staff), and 102 clinical (e.g., nursing attendants) professionals employed in a university hospital in Brazil were evaluated with the Suicide Behavior Attitude Questionnaire [SBAQ] before the start and immediately after a 3hour training on suicide prevention. Results: Surprisingly, there were no significant differences for the great majority of the SBAQ items (i.e., 20 of 21) between clinical and non-clinical staff both pre-and post-training. Furthermore, their attitudes and beliefs towards suicidality were significantly improved after training in the majority of SBAQ items, with p-values ranging from 0.01 to b0.0001.
The Attitudes of Emergency Staff Toward Attempted Suicide Patients
Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 2009
Background: The staff in the emergency room of general hospitals are under heavy work pressure and seem to reveal negative attitudes toward suicide attempters. From earlier studies there is indirect evidence that the attitudes of staff who have the opportunity to consult a psychiatrist are less negative. Aims: The study compare the attitudes of emergency room staff in a general hospital toward patients who had attempted suicide before and after establishment of a psychiatric consultation service. Methods: Attitudes were measured on the Understanding Suicidal Patients (USP) Scale. A total of 100 participants returned the questionnaire. Results: General understanding and willingness to nurse patients who attempted suicide did not increase. Conclusion: The results suggest that providing a psychiatric consultation service did not significantly affect attitudes among general hospital emergency room staff toward attempted suicide patients during its first year of operation, but in general, the emergency room staff was content with the opportunity for psychiatric consultation.
Sri Lanka Journal of Psychiatry, 2012
Original paper Background Suicide is a major public health problem. Clinicians attitudes can influence proper management and follow-up of patients who are at risk of repeated self harm. Aims This study attempts to compare the attitudes of mental health and non-mental health workers towards patients who attempt suicide. Methods We used an attitude questionnaire, used previously in India, which looked at attitudes of emergency room clinicians towards attempted suicide. The self administered questionnaire had 34 items with yes/no responses. The study sample included a group of 30 non mental health clinicians working in an emergency department. The comparison group consisted of a convenience sample of 30 mental health professionals. We carried out an exploratory factor analysis and identified six factors which described the data. The mean factor scores of the two groups were compared Results The mental health professionals had significantly higher scores for factors 1,4 and 5 which indicate a positive attitude of mental health professionals towards dealing with the patients who have attempted suicide, compared to non mental health professionals. Conclusions Training and education of non-mental health professionals must be encouraged to change their attitude towards patients who attempt suicide and this will help in the better management of these patients.
Hong Kong medical journal = Xianggang yi xue za zhi / Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, 2009
Appendix I Education programme on suicide prevention and management-Readings Appendix II Content of the education programme Appendix III Evaluation form Appendix IV Interview guide-process interview Appendix V Suicide Opinion Questionnaire Appendix VI Test-Knowledge on management of patients with suicidal risk Appendix VII Checklist-Nursing Management of Patient with Suicidal Precaution Appendix VIII Questionnaire-Nurses' stress and coping in caring for a suicidal patient Appendix IX Interview guide-outcome evaluation Appendix X Information sheet and consent form Appendix XI Demographic data Appendix XII Summary of programme evaluation Summary Background: There is increasing awareness and concern among healthcare professionals about patient suicides in general hospitals. Aim: To evaluate an education programme for the prevention and management of patient suicide by frontline nurses. Design: A evaluative design was used with a two-group pretest-posttest design and focus group interviews. Setting and subjects: A convenience sample of Registered nurses (N = 110) were recruited from the surgical and medical units of two general hospitals and randomly assigned to a study group (n = 54) and control group (n = 56). Intervention: A 8.5-hour education programme on suicide prevention based on reflective learning principles was conducted. Main outcome measures: Outcomes were measured by the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire, a test of knowledge, a nursing competency checklist, a questionnaire on stress and coping, and focus group interviews. Process evaluation was conducted using focus group interviews to assess the strengths and limitations of the programme. Analysis: Repeated measures analysis of variance and content analysis. Results: There were no significant differences between the study and control groups in any of the outcome measures. The qualitative data indicated that the participants considered that the education undertaken had benefited them by improving their attitude, confidence and professional skills in responding to suicidal patients. Participants gave examples of the application of new knowledge. They identified barriers in providing optimal care, which included the lack of support from senior staff, inadequate staffing, the lack of guidelines, the lack of coordination among disciplines and the physical environment of the wards. Conclusions: The duration of the programme and the barriers in the hospital environment may have influenced the outcomes. Ongoing education may be necessary to effect changes. Implications: This study has provided direction for the further development of the programme, and helped in the understanding of the difficulties that nurses encounter in practice.
Academic Psychiatry
Objective The attitude of medical personnel towards suicide may influence the outcome of suicidal-patients management. This study aimed to determine the attitudes of medical undergraduates towards suicide and its association with their help-seeking behavior. Methods A cross-sectional study involving 290 medical undergraduates was conducted in a Malaysian university. The questionnaires on the attitude towards suicide and general help-seeking behavior were used as research instruments. Results The mean age of the participants was 22.4 years. Participants who did psychiatry posting indicated a greater tendency to agree on suicide as a way of communication (p = 0.008) than those who did not. Participants previously diagnosed with a psychiatric illness indicated a greater ability to understand and accept suicide (p < 0.001) as well as a greater tendency to agree on the normality of suicide (p = 0.019) than those without a previous diagnosis. Those who attended a suicide prevention pro...
A comparative study of mental health versus nonmental professionals towards suicide.
Background: Suicide is a major public health problem. Suicide can be prevented by understanding the disorder. Attitude plays a significant role in doing so. Aim: To assess the attitudes of mental health professionals and non-mental health professionals towards an act of suicide and to compare the two groups regarding their attitudes. Materials and Methods: A semistructured questionnaire having yes/no type questions was administered to 30 mental health and 30 nonmental health professionals. A blind analysis of the data was done. Statistical Analysis: Comparative analysis using mean and standard deviation and analysis of variance was performed to rate significance in differences of responses to questions that rate attitudes. Results: The results show a significant positive attitude of mental health professionals toward dealing with the patients who attempted suicide. Discussion: Considering the magnitude of the problem, simple training and education of nonmental health professionals can change their attitude toward patients who attempt suicide, which in turn leads to an optimal management. Conclusion: The study shows that the mental health professionals are much more positive in their approach towards a patient of parasuicide.
Attitudes of psychiatric nursing personnel towards patients who have attempted suicide
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1997
ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA ISSN 0001 -690X Attitudes of psychiatric nursing personnel towards patients who have attempted 0 0 -suicide Samuelsson M, Asberg M, Gustavsson JF! Attitudes of psychiatric nursing personnel towards patients who have attempted suicide. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1997: 95: 222-230. 0 Munksgaard 1997.
OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 2018
This study explored health-care workers’ perception of patients’ suicide intention and their understanding of factors leading to particular interpretations. Semistructured face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with 32 health-care workers from a general hospital in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Interview data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the interpretative phenomenological analysis. The health-care workers were found to have four types of perceptions: to end life, not to end life, ambivalence about intention, and an evolving understanding of intention. Factors leading to their perceptions of patients’ suicide intention were patient demographics, health status, severity of ideation/attempt, suicide method, history of treatment, moral character, communication of suicide intention, affective/cognitive status, availability of social support, and health-care workers’ limited knowledge of patients’ condition/situation. Insufficient knowledge and negative attitudes towar...
Responses to patients with suicidal ideation among different specialties in general hospitals
General Hospital Psychiatry, 2008
The purpose of this study was to examine whether there were any differences in responses to patients with suicidal ideation among specialties in general hospitals. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted in 2007. The subjects of the study were chief physicians at 75 emergency departments, 69 internal medicine departments and 154 psychiatry departments in 161 general hospitals with psychiatric beds in Japan. The physicians in internal and emergency medicine reported making arrangements for needed counseling services and recommending to patients that they talk to the people around them, whereas those in psychiatric departments reported asking patients to promise not to commit suicide (no-suicide contract) and making a next appointment for them. Internists and emergency physicians are likely to take different approaches when responding to patients with suicidal ideation than psychiatrists.
Mental health workers’ views about their suicide prevention role
Psychology, Community & Health, 2016
AimMental Health workers bear responsibility for preventing suicide in their client group. Survey studies have indicated that staff can be seriously adversely affected when a client suicides. The aim of the current study is to describe and evaluate the effects on mental health (MH) workers of their ongoing role in managing suicidal behaviours and to identify the thoughts and feelings associated with this role.MethodA survey was administered to 135 MH workers via an on-line self-report vehicle. The survey comprised standardised measures of anxiety and burnout as well as a questionnaire developed for this study concerning perceptions and attitudes to suicide and suicide prevention.ResultsFactor analysis of 12 retained items of the questionnaire identified three factors: 1) preventability beliefs (beliefs about suicide being always and/or permanently preventable); 2) associated distress (stress/anxiety about managing suicidal behaviour); and 3) the prevention role (covering views about...