Knowledge and understanding of suicide in rural and suburban community of Chandigarh

Abstract

Background: Communities play a crucial role in suicide prevention. Community knowledge and understanding are essential for planning intervention strategies at community level. Aims and Objectives: To study the knowledge and understanding of people in rural and suburban areas about suicide and its prevention. Methodology: On the basis of convenient sampling, two places in the periphery of Chandigarh were selected. The participants were recruited from among those who were attending the program on suicide prevention on the occasion of World Mental Health Week (2019) and were administered a questionnaire (developed after 2 focused group discussions) after taking their informed consent. Results: There were 90 participants predominantly from rural background (74.4%), males (70%), and in the age range of 40–50 years (37%). Majority of the males from middle socioeconomic status and rural background reported 11–20 cases of suicide every year in their area and which was statistically significant. About 87% agreed that mental illness was not the only cause of suicide, and most of them felt that suicide occurred due to financial problems (34%), stress (33%), depression (22%), mental illness (21%), family disputes (15%), and unemployment (15%). Majority (47%) of the respondents preferred to “talk with friends and near ones” for suicide prevention. Conclusion: Study concluded that there is inadequate knowledge about incidence of suicide in the rural and suburban community of Chandigarh.