Roads less taken: Pathways to care before near-lethal suicide attempts

Abstract

This study identifies the cultural values affecting near-lethal suicide attempters’ help-seeking behaviours. Six Chinese survivors of intentional near-lethal self-poisoning were interviewed and their medical records examined. Interviewees with strong suicidal intentions had less demand for healthcare services and were resistant to care. Non-contact with services was associated with perceived service irrelevance, unhelpfulness and personal need to maintain self-reliance and dignity. Service providers should be trained to be sensitive to these individual values to allow the delivery of a culturally-appropriate service for this population. Social work empowerment models that focus on users’ self-reliance should be adopted in practice for this high-risk group.