Attitudes and perceptions of teachers and medical students regarding suicide

Maria Gardenia Amorim,Anamaria Cavalcante E Silva,Hermano Alexandre Lima Rocha,Isabella Cabral Marinho Plens,Marcos Kubrusly,Sócrates Belém Gomes

doi:10.1590/1981-5271v45.4-20210299.ing

Maria Gardenia Amorim, Anamaria Cavalcante E Silva + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-5271v45.4-20210299.ing

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Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are around one million deaths by suicide a year worldwide, more than the total sum of deaths caused by wars and homicides, which results in one death every 40 seconds. Despite the existence of several scientific publications on suicide prevention, there have been studies showing that health professionals are not trained to adequately care for individuals at risk of suicide. Objective: This study aimed to understand the attitudes and perceptions of medical school students and teachers regarding suicide. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study, with a quantitative and qualitative approach, approved by the Research Ethics Committee, which assessed a sample of 180 students attending the 8th and 11th semesters and 57 teachers from different semesters of the evaluated medical courses. The data were obtained by applying the Suicide Behavior Attitude Questionnaire (SBAQ), in addition to a sociodemographic questionnaire. The data were submitted to descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: Regarding professional capacity, the scores were low for both students (median 5.5) and teachers (median 5.25). Students who had seen someone exhibiting suicidal behavior (p = 0.002) and those attending the more advanced semesters (p = 0.04) felt more confident when treating patients at risk of suicide. There was a significant difference regarding the Right to Suicide factor among students who said they were religious (p = 0.001), as also among the teachers who attended religious services with a higher frequency (p = 0.02). Conclusions: We conclude that students and teachers have had little experience with suicide in the assessed medical courses, which contributes to low level of training and the feeling of insecurity, indicating the need to give more importance to the subject in the undergraduate medical school, aiming to allow the acquisition of knowledge and skills for a competent and preventive medical practice regarding suicide.

Highlights

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are around one million deaths by suicide a year worldwide, more than the total sum of deaths caused by wars and homicides, which results in one death every 40 seconds
We conclude that students and teachers have had little experience with suicide in the assessed medical courses, which contributes to low level of training and the feeling of insecurity, indicating the need to give more importance to the subject in the undergraduate medical school, aiming to allow the acquisition of knowledge and skills for a competent and preventive medical practice regarding suicide
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around one million deaths occur by suicide a year worldwide, more than the total sum of deaths caused by wars and homicides, which results in one death every 40 seconds[3]

Summary

Introduction

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are around one million deaths by suicide a year worldwide, more than the total sum of deaths caused by wars and homicides, which results in one death every 40 seconds. Suicide is the intentional act of taking one’s own life, even if the individual does it with ambivalence[1] It is one of the five main causes of death[2], and a complex problem, a worldwide public health concern, which has been increasing in the last 45 years among the young population of low- and middle-income countries. Despite the existence of several scientific publications on suicide prevention, there have been studies showing that health professionals are not trained to adequately care for individuals at risk of suicide, either due to the lack of knowledge, or due to moral issues or those associated with myths[5,6,7]. These users perceived the lack of humanized attitudes and a cold approach, among other issues related to the health service structure

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