Citation

Murphy AL, O'Reilly CL, Ataya R, Doucette SP, Burge FI, Salvador-Carulla L, Chen TF, Himmelman D, Kutcher S, Martin-Misener R, Rosen A, Gardner DM. Psychiatr. Serv. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

College of Pharmacy (Murphy, Ataya, Gardner), Department of Psychiatry (Murphy, Kutcher, Gardner), Department of Family Medicine (Burge), and School of Nursing (Martin-Misener), all at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (O'Reilly, Chen); Research Methods Unit, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax (Doucette); Centre for Mental Health Research, Research School of Population Health, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (Salvador-Carulla); Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, Halifax (Himmelman); Brain & Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney (Rosen); Illawarra Institute for Mental Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia (Rosen); Independent Senators Group, Senate of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Kutcher). Dr. Kutcher was with IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, at the time of this study.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

10.1176/appi.ps.201900244

PMID

31744430

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The study's objective was to examine Canadian and Australian community pharmacists' experiences with people at risk of suicide.

METHODS: A survey was developed and administered online. Countries were compared by Fisher's exact and t tests. Multivariable logistic-regression analysis was used to identify variables associated with preparedness to help someone in a suicidal crisis.

RESULTS: The survey was completed by 235 Canadian and 161 Australian pharmacists. Most (85%) interacted with someone at risk of suicide at least once, and 66% experienced voluntary patient disclosure of suicidal thoughts. More Australians than Canadians had mental health crisis training (p<0.001). Preparedness to help in a suicidal crisis was negatively associated with being Canadian, having a patient who died by suicide, lacking training and confidence, and permissive attitudes toward suicide.

CONCLUSIONS: Several perceived barriers impede pharmacists' abilities to help patients who voluntarily disclose suicidal thoughts. Gatekeeper and related suicide prevention strategy training for community pharmacists is warranted.

Language: en

Keywords

Community mental health services; Suicide and self-destructive behavior