Exploring Emergency Department Workers’ Attitudes Towards Individuals with Suicide Attempts: A Cross Sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to determine the attitudes of emergency service workers toward patients attempting suicide (PAS) and the factors influencing these attitudes.
METHODS: A total of 122 voluntary emergency service workers employed in a city hospital participated in the research. Data were collected using the “Attitude scale towards attemnpted suicide cases for evaluating emergency medical teams (ASETSA).” The data were analyzed using ANOVA and Student t-test.
RESULTS: The average age of the participants was 29 ± 6.7, with the majority being male (60%) and in the first five years of their profession (58%). The mean score on the ASETSA was 98.3 ± 8.6. It was determined that variables such as age, gender, education level, marital status, years of service, and weekly working hours did not affect the participants’ attitudes towards PAS. A small percentage of workers (7%) reported receiving training on suicide prevention.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The overall attitudes of emergency health workers towards individuals with suicide attempts were positive and not associated with sociodemographic and professional characteristics. It was identified that emergency health workers need more psychiatric training to feel adequately prepared when intervening in cases of suicide attempts.