Attitudes toward suicide prevention in front-line health staff

A questionnaire assessing attitudes toward suicide prevention was construct ed and shown to have satisfactory reliability and internal consistency. The determinants and distribution of these attitudes were investigated in four groups of health professionals who are in contact with suicidal patients: general practitioners, accident and emergency nurses, psychiatrists in trai ning, and community psychiatric nurses. Attitudes toward suicide prevention were shown to differ significantly between professional groups. More posit ive attitudes were associated with mental health professionals, working in the community, and previous training in suicide risk assessment. Negative a ttitudes should be assessed and targeted in training designed to improve th e management of suicide risk.