Attitudes of general hospital emergency room personnel towards attempted suicide patients.
The aim of this study was to compare the attitudes of emergency room staff towards patients who have attempted suicide between two general hospitals, one with psychiatric consultation available and the other without. The Understanding Suicidal Patients (USP) Questionnaire was given to all staff in the emergency rooms of Jorvi Hospital (in the city of Espoo, with routine psychiatric consultation) and Malmi Hospital (in the city of Helsinki, without routine psychiatric consultation) (n=115). There were clear differences in staff attitudes between the hospitals. Female gender, older age and working in Malmi Hospital without routine psychiatric consultation were associated with more positive attitudes towards attempted suicide patients. Surprisingly, only working in Jorvi Hospital was associated with more negative attitudes. Differences in attitudes towards suicide attempters between personnel working in the different hospitals were found. Further investigation is needed to find the ideal psychiatric consultation arrangement for suicide attempters in good cooperation with emergency room staff.
Suominen
Kirsi
K
Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland. kirsi.suominen@ktl.fi
Suokas
Jaana
J
Lönnqvist
Jouko
J
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004637:Emergency Services, Psychiatric / Q000600:supply & distribution; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data