Das Nishant, Khar Prerna, Karia Sagar, Shah Nilesh
Department of Psychiatry, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and General Hospital, Sion, Mumbai 400022, India.
Department of Psychiatry, TNMC and BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, Mumbai 400008, India.
Healthcare (Basel). 2022 Feb 11;10(2):354. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10020354.
Suicide is a global phenomenon that claims a person's life every 40 s. The suicide-mortality rate in India is higher than the worldwide average for health care professionals (HCP). The treatment gap for mental health care is alarming, more than 80% in India which has improved compared to a decade. Among the methods chosen by HCPs for dying by suicide, violent suicide methods are more common. Hanging is the most common means, followed by lethal injection and jumping from a building. Among the medical students and professionals in India, academic stress is the leading cause of suicides, followed by mental illness and harassment. Stressfully long working hours, starvation for long hours, inadequate diet, sleep deprivation, inadequate rest, high levels of personal expectations, knowledge of lethal suicide methods, easy access to potentially fatal drugs, apathy, and fearlessness towards death are some of the contributing factors. Primary preventive measures to minimize suicides in HCPs would be to conduct stress-management workshops at an institutional level, routine mental health check-ups in healthcare institutions, mental-health screening for students enrolling into healthcare courses, and prompt referrals to mental healthcare facilities. In addition, telehealth services or mental health services for medical professionals of India are the need of the hour.
自杀是一种全球现象，每40秒就会夺走一个人的生命。印度医护人员的自杀死亡率高于全球平均水平。印度精神卫生保健的治疗缺口令人担忧，超过80%，与十年前相比已有改善。在医护人员选择的自杀方式中，暴力自杀方式更为常见。上吊是最常见的手段，其次是注射致命药物和跳楼。在印度的医学生和专业人员中，学业压力是自杀的主要原因，其次是精神疾病和骚扰。工作时间过长、长时间饥饿、饮食不足、睡眠剥夺、休息不足、个人期望过高、了解致命自杀方法、容易获得潜在致命药物、冷漠和对死亡无畏等都是促成因素。将医护人员自杀率降至最低的主要预防措施包括在机构层面举办压力管理研讨会、医疗机构进行常规心理健康检查、对报考医护课程的学生进行心理健康筛查以及及时转诊至精神卫生保健机构。此外，为印度医疗专业人员提供远程医疗服务或心理健康服务是当务之急。
