Epidemiological Study of Self-Immolation at Khatamolanbia Hospital of Zahedan

Abstract

Background:Self-immolation is a high risk behavior and a way of life termination. Self-immolation, as the most painful of all forms of suicide, is not a common form of suicide in European countries. However, it is highly prevalent in developing countries particularly in Asia and Africa.Objectives:The aim of this study was to assess the rate and leading factors of self-immolation and gender, geographical distribution, and social norms of affected patients referred to Khatamolanbia Hospital of Zahedan from March 2010 to May 2012.Materials and Methods:This descriptive and objective-based study was cross-sectional and retrospective with 750 burn patients; 315 of them had attempted self-immolation and most of them died. The data collection tool was a two partite questionnaire consisting of 17 questions (8 questions about personal details and 9 questions about self-immolation factors).Results:350 self-immolations resulting in death were reported in this study; these subjects were 16-25 years old, 67.25% female, 63.55% elementary school education, 74.20% married, 69.10% housewife, 61.05% resident of Saravan, 93.35% oil burns, 72.30% middle and low social class, 90.20% burn over 68%, 20% psychiatric illness history and being treated with antidepressants, 73.25% verbal and physical violence before burning, and 100% of the burnings took place inside a house and usually during the afternoon.Conclusions:Due to the high rate of self-immolations in this area, solutions for improvement of life quality and social norms should be reviewed and implemented.

Self-Immolation among Women in Iran: A Narrative Review

“…Arranged marriage, unwanted pregnancy, being financially dependent on the husband, unfair divorce laws, unemployment, and limited job opportunities for women may bring social hopelessness in women. In this context, suicidal behaviors may be an automatic reflection, particularly in the first years of married life for women (5,9,24). Similar cultural factors might contribute to self-immolation in different provinces of Iran.…”

“…Similar cultural factors might contribute to self-immolation in different provinces of Iran. The results of studies conducted in East Azerbaijan (41), Mazandaran (10), Kohgiluyeh-and-Boyer-Ahmad (48), Kurdistan (36), Ilam (6,19), Kermanshah (18), Tehran (55,56), Khuzestan (57), Lorestan (33), and Sistan-and-Baluchestan (24) suggest that tension with husband and his family has a crucial role in women's deciding to commit selfimmolation. Economic opportunities are often lower in border provinces of Iran, and, therefore, their unemployment rate is higher than the national average.…”

“…Future studies are needed to elaborate on this phenomenon and understand its underlying mechanism. Self-immolation in Iran particularly affects young married women living in rural areas (8,41,47,48,58), and 73% of self-immolation cases occur in families with physical or verbal aggression (24).…”

“…In Iran, most of the self-immolation cases were educated up to primary only. Besides, women committing selfimmolation were either illiterate or had low levels of education (P < 0.001) (5,14,18,22,24,30,37,41). However, in the north of Iran, most (57.3%) of the self-burning cases were educated up to high school (10).…”

A model to explain suicide by self-immolation among Iranian women: A grounded theory study

“…Results from several different Iranian provinces, including Tabriz [12], Mazandaran [14], Kohkiluye Va Boyer Ahmad [15], Kurdistan [16], Ilam [9,23], Kermanshah [10], Tehran [24,25], Khuzestan [26], Lorestan [27] and Zahedan [28], suggest women's conflicts with their husbands and their husband's family are a primary motive for attempting self-immolation. Researchers also report that a specific family quarrel is frequently an immediate precursor for self-immolation attempts [10].…”