Attitude toward Suicide and Personal Experiences of Suicide among Doctors and Health Care Workers in Korea

Abstract

ObjectivesZZThe aim of this study was to investigate attitudes toward suicide and personal experiences with suicide among doctors and health care workers in Korea.MethodsZZA total of 622 participants were included in this study and 617 participants completed a self-report questionnaire that included 31 items; 184 doctors and 433 health care workers. A questionnaire was used for assessment of demographic characteristics, attitude toward suicide, and personal experiences with suicide in doctors and health care workers. The collected data were evaluated using chi-square and binary logistic regression analyses. A probability level of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsZZMore permissive attitudes toward suicide showed an association with doctor group and non-religious group (p<0.05). Religious group and older age showed an association with a more negative attitude (p<0.05). The lifetime and one-year prevalence rates of suicidal ideation were 31.4% and 9.8%, respectively, in all participants. The lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation was higher in the religious group (33.9%, p<0.05). Among all participants, 32.1% reported loss of a patient by suicide, and 29.9% reported contact with a patient at risk of suicide or with depression. In addition, 72.5% reported contact with a depressed patient.ConclusionZZAttitudes toward suicide among doctors and health care workers were shown to differ significantly between age, gender, doctor group and health care worker group, religious group and non-religious group. The reported level of suicidal ideation among doctors and health care workers is worthy of concern. Research is needed for establishment of effective prevention strategies on the basis of our findings.J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc 2013;52:231-242 KEY WORDSZZ Suicide · Attitude toward suicide · Doctor · Primary health care.

Knowledge and attitude of nonpsychiatric physicians regarding suicide in spinal cord injury patients and need for structured psychiatric education for suicide prevention

“…In the results of binary logistic regression analysis according to sociodemographic background, positive response rate increased with age for item Q5, “You can understand that someone would want to commit suicide if they had an incurable disease.” This differs from the responses found by Kwon et al [ 15 ] in a study on the general perception of suicide among doctors and health workers. Positive response rate also increased with age for item Q9, “Those who threaten to commit suicide have a higher risk of actually attempting suicide,” similar to the findings of Lee et al's [ 14 ] study of psychiatric residents, which showed that positive response rate increased with age above 30 to the question, “The person who committed suicide is the one who made a firm decision to die” ( P = .022).…”

“…In Korea, some studies have addressed quality of life, depression, and suicide in spinal cord injury patients, but most of these are anecdotal reports, and no existing research examines health care professionals’ perception of these issues. In addition, because most existing studies have focused on perception of and attitudes toward suicide among physicians and health care workers who treat patients diagnosed with a psychiatric disease or from the general population, [ 13 – 15 ] they provide a limited understanding of the awareness and attitudes of doctors and health care workers who treat spinal cord injury patients. Overseas, a few preliminary studies have been conducted among psychiatrists in Europe and Asia, [ 16 , 17 ] but systematic studies of this type have not yet been conducted in Korea.…”

Suicide and Suicide Prevention Awareness in Korea During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The suicide awareness questionnaire used in the survey was prepared by the Ansan Suicide Prevention Center based on the contents of the suicide awareness and attitude survey questionnaires used in previous studies in Korea. 20,21 This study investigated the general population's awareness of the importance and possibility of suicide prevention, groups that should make an effort to prevent suicide, the level of contact with acquaintances, and the effect of contact with acquaintances on suicide prevention. The importance of suicide prevention was investigated using the question "Do you think your own suicide or that of those around you must be prevented?"…”