Health System and Population Studies Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), 1212, Mohakhali, Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
BMC Psychol. 2024 May 9;12(1):231. doi: 10.1186/s40359-024-01699-5.
Disability marginalises a large portion of Bangladesh's population. Global pre- and post-pandemic research evidently states that, this group is more prone to develop mental health problems, which increases the risk of self-harm and suicide among them. It is crucial to comprehend and mitigate the mental health challenges among the people with disabilities which in turn can promote their greater participation in community, and in national socioeconomic development. However, currently there is limited information available, regarding the suicidal behaviour of this group in Bangladesh. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence and contributing factors of suicidal behaviour among people with disabilities.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted during September and October 2022, among the participants who had selected disabilities, by using probability proportional to size sampling technique across all eight divisions of Bangladesh. A semi-structured questionnaire comprising information about sociodemographic, lifestyle, health; and Suicidal Behaviour Questionnaire-Revision (SBQ-R) was used. The association between the determinants and mental health outcome was investigated using the Chi-square test, and the contributing factors were investigated using the multiple binary logistic regression.
About 10.45% of the participants reported to have suicidal behaviour (e.g., suicidal ideation, attempts, completed suicide), considering the cut-off score as 7 for the SBQ-R in the study period. Approximately, 40% respondents mentioned suicidal ideation in their lifetime, whereas, 9.01% had suicidal ideation over the past 12 months. Additionally, 8.87% of the person with disabilities, mentioned about their suicidal intent to the family members, and 5.94% reported the likelihood of suicide in the future. Being female, having multiple disabilities, and not being connected with family and friends were found to be significantly associated with suicidal behaviour.
This research demonstrates the significance of treating mental health issues and expanding accessibility to pre-existing services to lessen the impact of the limitations generated by disabilities. Policymakers can utilize this baseline findings to design large scale research and develop measures for suicide prevention, and management for at-risk groups.
残疾使孟加拉国的很大一部分人口处于边缘地位。全球大流行前后的研究清楚地表明，这一群体更容易出现心理健康问题，从而增加了他们自残和自杀的风险。了解和减轻残疾人群体的心理健康挑战至关重要，这反过来又可以促进他们更广泛地参与社区和国家的社会经济发展。然而，目前关于这一群体在孟加拉国的自杀行为的信息有限。因此，本研究旨在调查残疾人群体自杀行为的流行率和促成因素。
2022 年 9 月至 10 月期间，采用整群概率比例抽样技术，在孟加拉国所有 8 个地区，对选定残疾的参与者进行了横断面调查。使用半结构式问卷，其中包括社会人口统计学、生活方式、健康信息和自杀行为问卷修订版（SBQ-R）。使用卡方检验调查了决定因素与心理健康结果之间的关系，使用多元二项逻辑回归调查了促成因素。
在研究期间，约 10.45%的参与者报告存在自杀行为（例如自杀意念、自杀企图、自杀完成），考虑到 SBQ-R 的截距分数为 7。大约 40%的受访者在其一生中提到过自杀意念，而 9.01%的受访者在过去 12 个月中有过自杀意念。此外，8.87%的残疾人士向家人提到过自杀意图，5.94%的人报告未来有自杀倾向。研究发现，女性、多重残疾以及与家人和朋友没有联系与自杀行为显著相关。
这项研究表明，重视心理健康问题和扩大现有服务的可及性，以减轻残疾带来的限制的影响至关重要。决策者可以利用这一基线研究结果来设计大规模研究，并为高风险群体制定预防自杀和管理措施。
