Prevalence and impact of patient suicide in psychiatrists: Results from a national French web-based survey

Leaune, Édouard; Allali, Rachid; Rotgé, Jean Yves; Simon, Lisa; Vieux, Maxime; Fossati, Philippe; Gaillard, Raphaël; Gourion, David; Masson, Marc; Olié, Émilie; Vaïva, Guillaume

doi:10.1016/j.encep.2020.11.011

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Furthermore, while looking at the percentage of psychiatrists and psychiatry trainees who experienced complete suicide and serious suicide attempt; for psychiatrists, the percentage was similar to related studies [ 31 , 34 , 40 ]. In contrast, the percentage of psychiatry trainees was slightly lower [ 31 , 33 ], possibly due to most psychiatry trainees in Saudi Arabia being part of joint programs and rotating between different hospitals, which might limit their knowledge about their patients dying by suicide or undergoing a serious suicide attempt [ 41 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Perceived impact of patients’ suicide and serious suicidal attempts on their treating psychiatrists and trainees: a national cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia

Alshutwi,

Alawad,

Alammari

et al. 2023

BMC Psychiatry

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Background Patient suicides are significant events that tremendously affect psychiatrists— personally and professionally. Very few studies have focused on studying the impact of both serious suicidal attempts and completed suicide on psychiatrists and psychiatry trainees. Aim This study assessed the prevalence and impact of patient suicide and serious suicidal attempts on psychiatrists and psychiatry trainees in Saudi Arabia. Methods This national cross-sectional study of psychiatrists and psychiatry trainees was conducted in Saudi Arabia. Participants completed an online self-administered questionnaire to assess emotional and professional impacts and the traumatic impact of patient suicide using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Results 178 psychiatrists were enrolled in this study. The prevalence rate of patient suicide among participants was 38.8%, and they experienced adverse emotional reactions. Additionally, among those who were not exposed to patient suicide, 12.9% reported exposure to serious suicide attempts, and almost all of them experienced related negative emotions. The most frequently reported emotions were sadness (61.95%), shock (48.91%), and guilt (25%), and these emotions lasted longer in completed patient suicide cases than attempted suicide. Nearly 84% of participants who experienced suicide reported its impact on their profession. The most reported professional impacts were increased focus on suicide cues, attention to legal aspects, and a tendency to hospitalize. Of participants who experienced suicide, 75.4% reported that the overall impact of suicidal events on their professional practice had improved. Of the total number of respondents who experienced either suicide or serious suicidal attempts, 10.9% reported symptoms of PTSD. Conclusions: The study highlighted the emotional and professional burden that psychiatrists and psychiatry trainees experience due to patient’s completed suicides and serious suicidal attempts. Additionally, it emphasized the need for further research to study the benefits of implementing preparatory and training programs to help trainees and psychiatrists in such instances.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Perceived impact of patients’ suicide and serious suicidal attempts on their treating psychiatrists and trainees: a national cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia

Alshutwi,

Alawad,

Alammari

et al. 2023

BMC Psychiatry

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“…For instance, participants reported that they entered psychiatric training with the goal of suicide prevention and decreasing suicide rates so that, after exposure to PS, they expressed feelings of personal and professional disappointment and professional incompetence. Furthermore, the stage of training has a critical impact, as younger trainees are known to exhibit more negative effects on their practice ( 1 , 8 ), including a higher propensity to abandon their training. Consistent with our quantitative results ( 12 ), with found no variation in the impact based on the method of suicide used by the patients.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to national surveys, 63 to 91.5% of psychiatrists have experienced patient suicide (PS), particularly in the early stages of their careers ( 1 ). Adverse medical events are recognized to be extremely challenging for healthcare practitioners ( 2 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychiatric trainees as second victims after exposure to patient suicide: a French qualitative study

Durif-Bruckert,

Cuvillier,

Vieux

et al. 2023

Front. Psychiatry

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BackgroundThe exposure to patient suicide (PS) has been identified as one of the most frequent and troubling professional experience for psychiatric trainees. Further studies are needed to better understand how residents cope with these experiences and the association between perceived support and the impacts of PS.MethodIn this qualitative study, we aimed to assess the impact of exposure to PS during psychiatric residency on trainees’ professional career and practical experience. A total of 19 French psychiatric residents participated in 4 focus-groups performed between November 2017 and May 2019.ResultsA total of 4 thematic clusters were identified through a five-step content analysis, namely: (a) reactions to the exposure; (b) coping strategies; (c) professional impact; and (d) prevention and postvention proposals. All participants described the critical impact of the support provided after PS, especially by their senior staff. Those who felt supported by their superior reported less negative impact, both in emotional and professional dimensions. Participants also shared proposals to improve the prevention and postvention issues related to the exposure to PS.ConclusionWe performed the first qualitative study based on focus groups on the impact of PS on psychiatric residents, which allowed for an in-depth understanding of the participants’ lived experiences of the exposure to PS. The narratives inform the need and means to implement prevention and postvention strategies designed to buffer the negative impact of the exposure to PS in psychiatric trainees.

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Section: Treatment In Outpatient Psychotherapymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is clear that acute and chronic suicidal thoughts as well as attempts are common issues in daily mental health care (Leaune et al, 2021) and are important topics for clinical training (Kleespies et al, 1993). Surprisingly though, little is known about the treatment of patients with suicidal ideation or after suicide attempts in outpatient psychotherapy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suicidal ideation and attempts in adults seeking outpatient psychodynamic psychotherapy

Schnittger

Sievers

Scholz

et al. 2022

Clin Psychology and Psychoth

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Suicide is an important cause of death in patients with mental health disorders, but little is known about the occurrence of suicidal ideation and attempts in outpatient psychotherapy patients. The aim of this study was to identify the proportion of patients with and correlates of suicidal ideation and attempts in community‐based psychotherapy practices. Using 983 applications for reimbursement of psychotherapy from individual patients, reports about suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts were extracted along with demographic, biographic and clinical data. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify correlates of suicidal ideation and attempts by calculating odds ratios (ORs). Among the patients, 19% presented with suicidal thoughts (11% currently and 8% in the past) and 6% with suicide attempts. Important correlates of suicidal thoughts were male gender (OR 1.7), lower education (OR 1.8), early retirement (OR 2.9), death of a parent when younger than 5 years old (OR 3.3), violence experienced from various people (OR 2.1), self‐harm behaviour (OR 7.9) and alcohol misuse (OR 1.7). Suicide attempts were associated with male gender (OR 5.6), lower education (OR 4.2), violence experienced from partner (OR 2.5) or from various people (OR 9.5) and self‐harm behaviour (OR 15.0). These results show that the proportion of suicidal patients seeking outpatient psychotherapy is high. It should therefore be a central topic in clinical training. Biographic data such as the loss of a parent at an early age or experiencing violence are associated with who is at increased risk and should be explored in detail.

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Prevalence and impact of patient suicide in psychiatrists: Results from a national French web-based survey

Cited by 5 publications

References 25 publications

Perceived impact of patients’ suicide and serious suicidal attempts on their treating psychiatrists and trainees: a national cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia

Perceived impact of patients’ suicide and serious suicidal attempts on their treating psychiatrists and trainees: a national cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia

Psychiatric trainees as second victims after exposure to patient suicide: a French qualitative study

Suicidal ideation and attempts in adults seeking outpatient psychodynamic psychotherapy

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