Citation

Jones S, Krishna M, Rajendra RG, Keenan P. J. Ment. Health 2015; 24(6): 423-429.

Affiliation

Post Graduate Studies Centre, Faculty of Health and Social Care, Edge Hill University , Liverpool , UK .

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Informa Healthcare)

DOI

10.3109/09638237.2015.1019051

PMID

25993050

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There is growing global interest into the attitudes and clinical management of persons who have attempted suicide. AIMS: The principal purpose was to determine senior nursing staff attitudes towards patients who had attempted suicide from a professional and cultural perspective, which might influence care following hospital admission. The focus concerned nursing staff interactions at a psychological level that compete with physical tasks on general hospital wards.

METHODS: A qualitative methodology was employed with audio-taped interviews utilising four level data coding. This article reports on a group of 15 nursing staff from a large general hospital in Mysore, Southern India.

RESULTS: Findings suggested that patient care and treatment is directly influenced by the nurse's religious beliefs within a general hospital setting with physical duties prioritised over psychological support, which was underdeveloped throughout the participant group.

CONCLUSION: The results allow a series of recommendations for educational and skills initiatives before progressing to patient assessment and treatment projects and cross-cultural comparison studies. In addition, interventions must focus on current resources and context to move the evidence-based suicide prevention forward.

Language: en