Attitudes and Stigma Towards Suicidal Behavior in Intensive Care and Emergency Service Nurses

Suicide is an important and priority public health problem. In the last 45 years, the suicide rate in the world has increased by 60%. About 800,000 people die each year due to suicide. Suicide can be prevented with timely, evidence-based, and often low-cost interventions. The first places that individuals who attempt suicide apply are often the emergency departments of hospitals. These individuals are then referred to intensive care units for close follow-up of physical findings and treatment according to the results of the suicide attempt. Nurses working in the emergency room and general intensive care unit should consider the need for psychosocial support while taking precautions against the physiological consequences of suicide in order for the individual to survive. In the care of an individual who has attempted suicide, the nurse has responsibilities such as providing education to the patient, creating a safety plan, counseling for the restriction of deadly vehicles, quick referral to the necessary places, and providing contact with post-discharge care. It is a priority in the care of the individual that the nurse reduces the sense of hopelessness of the individual who comes with a suicide attempt, re-establishes the sense of commitment to other people, increases compliance with the treatment, motivates for change, and establishes therapeutic communication. In this regard, the knowledge level of healthcare professionals and nurses who provide primary care to patients, and their attitudes towards suicide are important. When the literature is examined, studies on the attitudes of health professionals working in the emergency room toward suicide attempts have been observed, but no research has been found that determines both the attitudes and stigmatization levels of intensive care and emergency room nurses toward suicidal behavior. For this reason, this study was planned to determine the attitudes and stigmatization levels of nurses working in the general intensive care and emergency departments towards suicidal behavior.

Inclusion criteria

• Having no barriers in oral and written communication in Turkish
• Volunteering to participate in research
• Working in the general intensive care or emergency department of the hospital

Exclusion criteria

• Giving incomplete or incorrect information to forms