References
The role of primary care in preventing male suicide
Abstract
Men in the UK are three times more likely to take their own lives than women. Sheila Hardy describes how practice nurses can help to prevent these unnecessary deaths
Men are more likely to die by suicide than women in the UK. Studies have found that most people whose death was due to suicide had been in contact with primary care in the year prior to death. Primary care clinicians, including practice nurses, are often the first health professionals seen by people who are experiencing distress or suicidal thoughts, and mental illness is mainly managed in primary care. However, mental illness is unrecognised in two-thirds of primary care patients. This article describes the responsibilities of health professionals in primary care consulting with men who may be at risk of suicide.
The American Psychiatric Association (2019) defines suicide as ‘the act of killing yourself, most often as a result of depression or other mental illness’. However, Oquendo and Baca-Garcia (2014) argue that, although suicidal behaviour often occurs in the context of mental illness, this is not always the case. Only half of those who die by suicide have previously been referred to mental health services (National Confidential Inquiry, 2013) and one study found that 37% of primary care patients who die by suicide had never received a diagnosis of a mental illness (National Confidential Inquiry, 2014). The World Health Organization (2019) explains that suicides can occur impulsively in times of crisis when the person is unable to cope with stress. Causes of stress may include monetary problems, relationship issues and chronic pain and illness. They also list high rates of suicide among people who have experienced conflict, disaster, violence, abuse, loss and a sense of isolation; and those who experience discrimination (including refugees and migrants; indigenous peoples; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex [LGBTI] persons; and prisoners).
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