Nurses' attitudes towards suicidal behaviour – a comparative study of community mental health nurses and nurses working in an accidents and emergency department

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore and compare the attitudes towards suicidal behaviour of community mental health nurses (CMHNs) and registered nurses working in an accidents and emergency (A&E) department. The sample consisted of 80 nurses working in the same locality. An instrument was designed using statements from Domino's 'Suicide Opinion Questionnaire' (SOQ) and new statements based on a comprehensive survey of research in this area. The instrument contained four attitudinal categories consisting of; acceptability; morality and mental illness; professional role, work and care; and communication and attention. Results reveal that both groups of nurses held generally positive attitudes towards suicidal behaviour, contrasting with previous studies where more negative attitudes amongst nurses were found. A t-test showed no statistically significant differences between the two groups of nurses in any of the four attitudinal categories. Attitudes were significantly different in accordance with nurses' length of experience and age within both groups. Further research is needed in this area if nurses are to develop their role alongside other professionals working towards the objectives of suicide prevention policies.

Emergency department staff attitudes towards mental health consumers: A literature review and thematic content analysis

“…Other authors (Anderson 1997, McCarthy et al 2010 noted that attitudes become less positive after a certain age or length of experience (over 50 years old or 16 years of experience), although they did not clearly hypothesize a reason why this may be the case. It could be suggested that, to a certain point, repeated experience of working with consumers presenting with mental health problems can enable clinicians to enhance their knowledge and skills.…”

“…In an earlier study by Anderson (1997), attitudes of ED and community mental health nurses were compared and older nurses (>30 years) in the ED were found to have more (2010) focussed on specific age ranges and found that based on overall scores using the Attitudes Towards Deliberate Self Harm Questionnaire, ED nurses aged 41-50 years had more positive attitudes towards patients who self harm than those in younger age groups. The authors also noted that ED nurses between the ages of 31-40 years had more positive attitudes due to the belief that they could in fact work effectively with this patient group.…”

Nurses knowledge and attitudes to individuals who self-harm: A quantitative exploration

“…Separating out the survey items specific to nurses' knowledge of self-injury, there was a higher mean score among MHE nurses (M = 27.59, SD = 2.85) compared to non-MHE nurses (M = 25.66, SD = 2.73). These items generally asked about beliefs (items 1,26,27), morality (items 9, and 28) and knowledge (items 2,29,32,36). This difference in knowledge scores between MHE and non-MHE nurses was statistically significant (p < .001).…”

“…[41] The results from this study are in contrast to the majority of the literature which reports that nurses have a tendency to feel negatively regarding NSSI. [20][21][22] As mentioned earlier, some studies did reveal positive attitudes towards NSSI, [27] but this occurred less frequently than studies reporting negative attitudes. One study revealed both positive and negative attitudes from nurses towards self-injury.…”

“…[2,9,25,26] There was a recommendation from these studies for a need for further education at an undergraduate and postgraduate level. [8,9] Some studies revealed, [27] however, positive attitudes towards NSSI, but this occurred less frequently than studies reporting negative attitudes. Where researchers noted nurses' views are predominantly positive, [28] McHale et al also noted that education is an antecedent to more positive attitudes and increased knowledge about NSSI.…”