PSYCHIATRIC NURSING TEAM ATTITUDES TOWARD SUICIDE RISK MANAGEMENT AT DAMMAM AL AMAL COMPLEX, SAUDI ARABIA

Abstract

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Psychiatric patients are at high risk of suicide. Patients who are at risk for suicide are very difficult to manage and need close observation. Nurses have the highest level of daily contact with survivors of self-harm and they are educated to identify person who are at risk of suicide and provide appropriate treatment and services. Research has showed that attitudes are important when action is to be taken. Assessment, management and follow up services may be affected by attitudes that staff have towards the suicidal patients. Different staff attitudes may lead to different interpretations of suicidal attempts and therefore inconsistent implementations of strategies. Ultimately, improving attitudes of nurses towards suicidal patients is Important in motivating patients to engage in treatment and manage suicidal indications, ought to minimize avoidance by personnel, enhance their desire to work with these patients and contribute to better treatment outcomes.Aim: to investigate the attitude of psychiatric nursing staff toward suicide risk management at Dammam Al-Amal complex, Saudi Arabia.Tool:•Part I: It includes data related to Socio- demographic data: gender, age, marital status, level of education and Nurses‟ previous experience with suicidal patients.•Part II: The Attitudes toward Suicide Prevention (ATSP) scale, developed by Herron, Ticehurst, Appleby, Perry, & Cordingley( 2001), Consists of 14-item that assessed providers‟ attitudes toward suicide prevention efforts. Items are rated on a five-point Likert scale) from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).Result : The study revealed that attitudes about suicide risk management possible mean scores on the Attitudes to Suicide Prevention scale range from 14-70, higher scores suggested more negative attitudes. The mean for the current sample was 34.8 (SD=.066), indicating that the actual response was in the moderately positive range. Nurses‟ positive attitudes toward suicide prevention is found to be associated with54exposure of suicide prevention workshops, and prior clinical experience, committed suicidal patients.Conclusion and Recommendations:Nurses in general ,have moderate positive attitude toward suicidal risk management. The study could not find any association between attitude and demographic profile as gender, age, education, marital status or work experience. Nurses‟ positive attitudes toward suicide prevention is found to be associated with exposure of suicide prevention workshops, and prior clinical experience, committed suicidal patients Based on these finding, it is recommended that enhancing the awareness of psychiatric nurses by introducing measures to improve attitudes toward these patients. Regular educational and training programs on suicidal prevention should consider the attitude of nurses toward suicidal patients,