Suicide Literacy and Stigmatising Attitude Among Poisoning Wards Nurses and Physicians Towards Patients With Suicide Attempts: A Cross-Sectional Study

Nurs Open. 2025 May;12(5):e70182. doi: 10.1002/nop2.70182.

ABSTRACT

AIM: Health professionals’ attitudes towards suicidal patients may affect the quality of treatment and care provided. This study was conducted to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of physicians and nurses towards patients with suicidal ideation and a history of suicide attempts.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional research design was used to conduct this study.

METHODS: A total of 421 physicians and nurses were recruited. Data analyses were performed using SPSS software version 23. This study used a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Stigma of Suicide Scale-Short Form and the Literacy of Suicide Scale questionnaires.

RESULTS: This study included 421 participants, comprising 55 general physicians (GPs; 13.1%), 92 specialist physicians (21.9%) and 274 nurses (65%). Nurses had an average score of 4.65 ± 1.78 for suicide knowledge and 46.59 ± 7.43 for suicide stigma. No significant relationship was observed between suicide knowledge and suicide stigma among nurses (r = 0.02). However, a significant negative correlation was identified between suicide knowledge and suicide stigma among physicians (r = -0.25).

CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that increasing suicide literacy may help reduce stigma among physicians, highlighting the need for targeted educational interventions in clinical settings.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Patients and the public were not directly involved in the design, conduct or reporting of this study. However, the findings highlight the importance of improving healthcare professionals’ knowledge and attitudes towards suicidal ideation and behaviour, which could have a direct impact on patient care.

PMID:40304122 | DOI:10.1002/nop2.70182