Preventing suicide; nurse education and the occluded issue of gender

Abstract

Suicide prevention training recommended as part of national suicidal strategies across the UK has contributed to a reduction in suicide. Previous studies have found suicide prevention training changes attitude and increases confidence in ability to utilise suicide prevention strategies. There is limited evidence relating to the different responses to suicide prevention training by females and males. As the majority of nurses are female it is important to know if they report the same increases in confidence after suicide prevention training. An exploratory study utilising a survey design and repeated measures was used to investigate the effect of SafeTALK training on the level of general perceived self-efficacy (GPSE) in student nurses and to observe for any gender-related differences. A sample (N = 128) of first year student nurses were asked to complete a GPSE assessment pre and post SafeTALK training. Males reported higher scores on both total pre and post-training scores of GPSE and on mean scores per question compared to females. An effect of time (F (1, 118) = 20.07, p = .001) but no effect of gender (F (1, 118) = 3.53, p = .06) was found. A post-hoc sample size calculation revealed that a replication of the current investigation with a sample size of N = 15 (males), N = 155 (females), would be likely to find a statistically significant difference between genders in GPSE scores. It may be prudent to consider joint facilitation, with both male and female facilitators of SafeTALK training sessions. Specific pedagogical strategies can also be used to promote an increase in self-efficacy in those people undertaking SafeTALK training.

Employee Performance Optimization Through Transformational Leadership, Procedural Justice, and Training: The Role of Self-Efficacy

“…The general purpose of training is to develop skills, to be faster and more effective in completing a job, to develop knowledge, so that work can be completed rationally, and to develop attitudes that foster a willingness to work together among employees and with management (leaders). From the results of this data processing, the hypothesis proposed in this research is in line with the results of previous research by Stocks and Slater (2016), Brooke et al (2017), Kerr et al (2018), Loomba and Karsten (2019), and Dang and Chou (2019) that show a positive and significant relationship between training and SE. This is according to the SE theory proposed by Bandura (1997), which states that a person must learn various skills to diagnose their strengths and weaknesses to optimize the person's potential to increase SE.…”

The impact of suicide prevention education programmes for nursing students: A systematic review

“…2015; Kerr et al . 2018; Luebbert & Popkess 2015; Pederson 1993; Sun et al . 2011) were assessed with the quasi‐experimental tool, two (Heyman et al .…”

“…2015; Kerr et al . 2018; Pullen et al . 2016), the validity of causal inferences is stronger in those with controls (Luebbert & Popkess 2015; Pederson 1993; Sun et al .…”

“…Three studies provided sufficient information to determine that reliable outcome measures were used (Kerr et al . 2018; Luebbert & Popkess 2015; Sun et al . 2011).…”

“…Lastly, linked to the notion of self‐confidence, participants in Kerr et al . 's (2018) evaluation of SafeTALK suicide prevention training reported a significant increase in general perceived self‐efficacy post‐ compared to pre‐intervention. This improvement was greater for male students than females.…”