Ouzouni Christina
Background: Although attitudes towards attempted suicide may impact upon the quality of patients’ care as well as in the prevention of patients’ future attempts to suicide, there are a few published studies investigating doctors’ attitudes towards those patients. The aim of the present study was to explore the attitudes of Greek doctors’ towards attempted suicide. Method and material: A cross-sectional research design was used with a convenience sample of doctors (N=206) working in four general hospitals in Greece. Attitudes Towards Attempted Suicide–Questionnaire (ATAS-Q) was used which was a five point likert type and comprised 8 factors. For the data analysis descriptive and inferential statistics were employed using SPSS version 17. Results: Overall doctors showed relatively unfavourable attitudes towards attempted suicide. Respondents reported a variety of mixed feelings (responsibility, sympathy, discomfort, sadness) when treating attempted suicide patients. Older respondents and those with more professional experience expressed more favourable attitudes as well as those working in surgical and orthopaedic departments. The most unfavourable attitudes were displayed by doctors working in ICU’s. In addition, participants who had contemplated suicide at any point in their life or who had a relationship with someone who committed suicide held more positive attitudes. Conclusions: Doctors frequently encounter suicidal individuals and therefore must be aware of their attitudes towards this group of patients as part of their professional and therapeutic role. Thus, doctors’ favourable attitudes towards attempted suicide can play a key role in preventing a future suicide attempt or a fatal suicide.
