Attitudes towards suicidal behaviour and associated factors among nursing professionals: A quantitative study.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Self-confident health professionals with positive and understanding attitudes can take better care of people with suicidal behaviour, but the factors associated with these attitudes are not known. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: The majority of nursing professionals had no experience or training in mental health or suicide. They were less self-confident and had more negative attitudes. Nurses and nursing assistants who worked before in mental health services were more understanding with people with suicidal behaviour. Nurses and nursing assistants who were working in prehospital services were less self-confident to taking care of people with suicidal behaviour. Some members of the nursing team had already seriously considered committing suicide. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: The practicing, support and training in mental health may improve the nurses' attitudes and emotional competencies. It is important to know why few nurses had suicide-related training, despite the relevance of this issue. Training in mental health or suicide need to include attitudinal and emotional competencies. It is important to offer emotional support to emergency nursing professionals. ABSTRACT: Background The attitudes towards suicide of emergency nurses may affect the care provided. However, the factors associated with these attitudes remain unclear. Objective To investigate attitudes towards suicidal behaviour and associated factors among nursing professionals working in emergency settings. Methods A cross-sectional observational study including 28 nurses and 118 who were nursing assistants employed at two emergency services in Brazil was conducted. Data were collected in 2015 using a self-administered sociodemographic questionnaire and the Suicide Behavior Attitude Questionnaire (SBAQ). Results The majority of participants reported having no experience or training in mental health or suicide. They reported more negative feelings towards the patient and a lower self-perception of professional competence regarding suicidal behaviours, and these attitudes seemed to reinforce each other. Nurses who worked in mental health services reported less moralistic/judgemental attitudes. Working in prehospital services was associated with having a lower self-perception of professional competence. There were professionals who reported thinking seriously about committing suicide. Conclusion When combined with support and training, practicing mental health nursing may serve as an opportunity to develop favourable attitudes and emotional competences, and these issues need to be addressed in suicide education strategies.

Basic life support knowledge of first-year university students from Brazil

We aimed to evaluate knowledge of first aid among new undergraduates and whether it is affected by their chosen course. A questionnaire was developed to assess knowledge of how to activate the Mobile Emergency Attendance Service - MEAS (Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência; SAMU), recognize a pre-hospital emergency situation and the first aid required for cardiac arrest. The students were also asked about enrolling in a first aid course. Responses were received from 1038 of 1365 (76.04%) new undergraduates. The questionnaires were completed in a 2-week period 1 month after the beginning of classes. Of the 1038 respondents (59.5% studying biological sciences, 11.6% physical sciences, and 28.6% humanities), 58.5% knew how to activate the MEAS/SAMU (54.3% non-biological vs 61.4% biological, P=0.02), with an odds ratio (OR)=1.39 (95%CI=1.07-1.81) regardless of age, sex, origin, having a previous degree or having a relative with cardiac disease. The majority could distinguish emergency from non-emergency situations. When faced with a possible cardiac arrest, 17.7% of the students would perform chest compressions (15.5% non-biological vs 19.1% biological first-year university students, P=0.16) and 65.2% would enroll in a first aid course (51.1% non-biological vs 74.7% biological, P<0.01), with an OR=2.61 (95%CI=1.98-3.44) adjusted for the same confounders. Even though a high percentage of the students recognized emergency situations, a significant proportion did not know the MEAS/SAMU number and only a minority had sufficient basic life support skills to help with cardiac arrest. A significant proportion would not enroll in a first aid course. Biological first-year university students were more prone to enroll in a basic life support course.

Basic life support knowledge of first-year university students from Brazil.

We aimed to evaluate knowledge of first aid among new undergraduates and whether it is affected by their chosen course. A questionnaire was developed to assess knowledge of how to activate the Mobile Emergency Attendance Service - MEAS (Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência; SAMU), recognize a pre-hospital emergency situation and the first aid required for cardiac arrest. The students were also asked about enrolling in a first aid course. Responses were received from 1038 of 1365 (76.04%) new undergraduates. The questionnaires were completed in a 2-week period 1 month after the beginning of classes. Of the 1038 respondents (59.5% studying biological sciences, 11.6% physical sciences, and 28.6% humanities), 58.5% knew how to activate the MEAS/SAMU (54.3% non-biological vs 61.4% biological, P=0.02), with an odds ratio (OR)=1.39 (95%CI=1.07-1.81) regardless of age, sex, origin, having a previous degree or having a relative with cardiac disease. The majority could distinguish emergency from non-emergency situations. When faced with a possible cardiac arrest, 17.7% of the students would perform chest compressions (15.5% non-biological vs 19.1% biological first-year university students, P=0.16) and 65.2% would enroll in a first aid course (51.1% non-biological vs 74.7% biological, P<0.01), with an OR=2.61 (95%CI=1.98-3.44) adjusted for the same confounders. Even though a high percentage of the students recognized emergency situations, a significant proportion did not know the MEAS/SAMU number and only a minority had sufficient basic life support skills to help with cardiac arrest. A significant proportion would not enroll in a first aid course. Biological first-year university students were more prone to enroll in a basic life support course.