Citation

Tzeng WC, Lipson JG. Issues Ment. Health Nurs. 2005; 26(4): 451-463.

Affiliation

Department of Nursing, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/01612840590922461

PMID

16020059

Abstract

The ethnographic study on which this report is based investigated experiences among patients, their families, friends, colleagues, and health professionals following a suicide attempt. Misunderstanding and ineffective treatment are often based on different explanations of suicide held by patients, their families, and health professionals, even when they share culture and language. In this report we describe how suicide is perceived by psychiatric team members in one regional teaching hospital in northern Taiwan. Twenty-two staff members of the Department of Psychiatry participated in this study. "Making a diagnosis" characterized the psychiatric subculture around the care of suicidal patients. In addition, mental health professionals tended to differentiate the patient's condition through three main avenues: (a) psychotic symptoms versus personality problems, (b) low IQ and high educational level, and (c) high versus low lethality of method. These findings suggest that mental health professionals need to bridge the gap between their knowledge and understanding of suicide and patients' and patients' families' expectations for care and treatment.