The Attitude of Psychiatric and Non-psychiatric Health-care Workers Toward Suicide in Malaysian Hospitals and Its Implications for Training

Siau, Ching Sin; Wee, Lei Hum; Yacob, Sapini; Yeoh, Seen Heng; Adnan, Tassha Hilda; Haniff, Jamaiyah; Perialathan, Komathi; Mahdi, Aziman; Rahman, Abu Bakar; Eu, Choon Leng; Wahab, Suzaily

doi:10.1007/s40596-017-0661-0

Cited by 19 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…According to Evans-Lacko and Knapp [10], cultural contexts in which mental illness is stigmatized may prevent an employee from disclosing their mental illness status and take sick-leave due to mental health-related reasons. This is the case in Malaysia, where even though as high as one thirds of Malaysians were reported as suffering from a mental illness [78], there is still a lack of knowledge and a prevalence of stigma against individuals who are mentally ill or suicidal [79–81].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anteceding factors predicting absenteeism and presenteeism in urban area in Malaysia

Wee

Yeap²,

Chan

et al. 2019

BMC Public Health

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Background Organization productivity is strongly linked to employees’ socioeconomic characteristics and health which is marked by absenteeism and presenteeism. This study aims to identify anteceding factors predicting employees’ absenteeism and presenteeism by income, physical and mental health. Methods An online health survey was conducted between May to July 2017 among employees from 47 private companies located in urban Malaysia. A total of 5235 respondents completed the 20-min online employee health survey on a voluntary basis. Chi-Square or Fisher’s exact tests were used to determine association between income with demographic and categorical factors of absenteeism and presenteeism. Multivariate linear regression was used to identify factors predicting absenteeism and presenteeism. Results More than one third of respondents’ monthly income were less than RM4,000 (35.4%), 29.6% between RM4,000-RM7,999 and 35.0% earned RM8,000 and above. The mean age was 33.8 years (sd ± 8.8) and 49.1% were married. A majority were degree holders (74.4%) and 43.6% were very concerned about their financial status. Mean years of working was 6.2 years (sd ± 6.9) with 68.9% satisfied with their job. More than half reported good general physical health (54.5%) ( p = 0.065) and mental health (53.5%) ( p = 0.019). The mean hours of sleep were 6.4 h (sd ± 1.1) with 63.2% reporting being unwell due to stress for the past 12 months. Mean work time missed due to ill-health (absenteeism) was 3.1% (sd ± 9.1), 2.8% (sd ± 9.1) and 1.8% (sd ± 6.5) among employees whose monthly income was less than RM4,000, RM4,000-RM7,999 and over RM8,000 respectively ( p = 0.0066). Mean impairment while working due to ill-health (presenteeism) was 28.2% (sd ± 25.3), 24.9% (sd ± 25.5) and 20.3% (sd ± 22.9) among employees whose monthly income was less than RM4,000, RM4,000-RM7,999 and over RM8,000 respectively ( p < 0.0001). Factors that predict both absenteeism and presenteeism were income, general physical health, sleep length and being unwell due to stress. Conclusions A combination of socioeconomic, physical and mental health factors predicted absenteeism and presenteeism with different strengths. Having insufficient income may lead to second jobs or working more hours which may affect their sleep, subjecting them to stressful condition and poor physical health. These findings demand holistic interventions from organizations and the government.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anteceding factors predicting absenteeism and presenteeism in urban area in Malaysia

Wee

Yeap²,

Chan

et al. 2019

BMC Public Health

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“…Interventions focused on improving knowledge, skills and correcting countertransference of workers may be considered in the event of negative perceptions. 55…”

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confidence: 99%

<p>Prevalence and Factors Associated with Suicidal Ideation in Institutionalized Patients with Schizophrenia</p>

Chong¹,

Wahab²,

Muthukrishnan³

et al. 2020

PRBM

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Purpose The shorter life expectancy and increased risk of suicide in patients with schizophrenia have been well documented. However, study outcomes on suicidality in this special population have been few to date. This study investigated the prevalence and factors associated with suicidal ideation in a population of institutionalized patients with schizophrenia. Methods Two hundred fifty-six patients with schizophrenia between the age of 18 and 65 years were randomly recruited. This cross-sectional study utilised the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS), the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scale (PSYRATS-AH). Univariate analysis was performed using an independent t -test or chi-square test, followed by binary logistic regression to determine the factors associated with increased suicidal risks. Results The socio-demographic factors associated with suicidal ideation included level of education ( p =0.039); secondary-level education (OR=5.76, 95% CI:1.49, 22.34, p =0.011) and tertiary-level education (OR=9.30, 95% CI: 1.80, 48.12, p =0.008) posed a greater risk. A history of attempted suicide (OR=2.09, 95% CI: 1.01, 4.36, p =0.049) and the presence of co-morbid physical illnesses (OR=2.07, 95% CI: 1.02, 4.21, p =0.044) were also found to be associated with a suicidal ideation. Other significant factors associated with suicidal thoughts were concurrent depression (OR=9.68, 95% CI: 3.74, 25.05, p <0.001) and a higher PSYRATS score in emotional characteristics of auditory hallucinations (OR=1.13, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.21, p <0.001). Conclusion Suicide in schizophrenia appears to be more closely associated with certain socio-demographic factors and affective symptoms. Appropriate screening and treatment addressing these challenges must be emphasized if suicidal thoughts and actions are to be reduced.

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“…A study that was conducted on psychologists found that the majority perceive suicide as an unethical act (Pope, Tabachnick, & Keith‐Spiegel, ). Such negative attitudes have a negative effect on the ability and willingness to work with suicidal patients (Lang, Ramsay, Tanney, & Tierney, ; Siau et al, ) and on the efficacy of the treatment, thereby contributing to the increase in suicide rates (Grimholt, Haavet, Jacobsen, Sandvik, & Ekeberg, ; Lang et al, ). Suicidal patients challenge mental health professionals to examine their own issues regarding life and death, maintain boundaries between personal beliefs and professional ethics, and carefully consider their attitudes towards treatment (Maris, Berman, & Silverman, , pp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Will you treat me? I'm suicidal!” The effect of patient gender, suicidal severity, and therapist characteristics on the therapist's likelihood to treat a hypothetical suicidal patient

Almaliah-Rauscher

Ettinger

Levi‐Belz

et al. 2020

Clin Psychology and Psychoth

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The purpose of our study was to broaden the understanding regarding mental health professionals' willingness to treat and likeliness to refer suicidal patients to other professionals. More specifically, our aim was to examine the effect of the patient's gender and suicidal severity, as well as the mental health professionals' personal and professional characteristics, on the willingness to treat and likeliness to refer. A total of 331 mental health professionals were randomly exposed to one of four case descriptions of a hypothetical patient in a crisis. The cases shared a common background story; however, they differed in terms of the patient's gender and suicidal condition (high vs. low). The exposure was followed by questionnaires aimed to reflect the subject's evaluation of the patient's suicidal severity, the subject's sense of competence and responsibility, willingness to treat or likeliness to refer, emotional contagion, and depression. The results indicate a lower willingness to treat and higher likelihood to refer suicidal patients compared with depressed patients. In addition, subjects exposed to the high suicidality cases showed a greater willingness to treat and refer female patients compared with male patients. A sense of competence was found as the strongest predictor of mental health professionals' willingness to treat and likelihood to refer, and emotional contagion was found as a predictor of likelihood to refer. It is important that mental health professionals be aware of the low tendency to treat suicidal patients especially if they are male. Further research should explore suitable training programmes and their application in the mental health curriculum.

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The Attitude of Psychiatric and Non-psychiatric Health-care Workers Toward Suicide in Malaysian Hospitals and Its Implications for Training

Cited by 19 publications

References 32 publications

Anteceding factors predicting absenteeism and presenteeism in urban area in Malaysia

Anteceding factors predicting absenteeism and presenteeism in urban area in Malaysia

<p>Prevalence and Factors Associated with Suicidal Ideation in Institutionalized Patients with Schizophrenia</p>

“Will you treat me? I'm suicidal!” The effect of patient gender, suicidal severity, and therapist characteristics on the therapist's likelihood to treat a hypothetical suicidal patient

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