Ovuga E B, Buga J W, Guwatudde D
Department of Psychiatry, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
East Afr Med J. 1996 Jul;73(7):448-52.
Student suicides at Makerere University have occurred sporadically and no systematic programme of suicide prevention has been developed. In addition, no clear guidelines have been worked out to guide the operations of the university counselling centre. A study on the possible predictability of suicide behaviour among students was conducted from October 1992 to June 1995. Study objectives included the identification of possible characteristics of suicidal students; the determination of the proportion of students who will seek counselling services at the university hospital in the course of their studies; and the identification of characteristics of counsellees. Study participants were the entire group of the 1992/93 academic year intake. Six hundred and nineteen students consented to complete a self-administered questionnaire, especially designed to identify suicidal and or depressed persons. The students were then followed up for three years during which data on student attendance at the counselling centre were collected. The results were analysed using the EPI INFO computer software. The results indicated that some students (at least 5.5%) who enrolled at Makerere university annually will probably require counselling services in the course of their studies; and it is possible to recognise students who might require counselling services early at the time of their enrollment at the university. The following recommendations are made to improve counselling services for students: all students should be inducted at the time of their entry into the university; counselling services should be made attractive to students; students should be involved in providing counselling services, particularly at emergency level; a prompt and attractive referral system for students requiring psychiatric care should be established; a telephone hot-line to be managed by the students should be established and; further research is needed to improve counselling services for students at Makerere university.
马凯雷雷大学的学生自杀事件时有发生，且尚未制定系统的自杀预防计划。此外，也没有明确的指导方针来指导大学咨询中心的运作。1992年10月至1995年6月，开展了一项关于学生自杀行为可预测性的研究。研究目标包括确定自杀学生可能的特征；确定在学习过程中会到大学医院寻求咨询服务的学生比例；以及确定接受咨询者的特征。研究参与者为1992/93学年入学的全体学生。619名学生同意填写一份专门设计的自填问卷，以识别有自杀倾向和/或抑郁的人。然后对这些学生进行了三年的跟踪，期间收集了学生到咨询中心咨询的数据。使用EPI INFO计算机软件对结果进行了分析。结果表明，每年进入马凯雷雷大学的学生中，有一些学生（至少5.5%）在学习过程中可能需要咨询服务；并且有可能在学生入学时就尽早识别出可能需要咨询服务的学生。为改善学生咨询服务，提出以下建议：所有学生入学时都应接受入学教育；咨询服务应吸引学生；学生应参与提供咨询服务，特别是在紧急情况下；应为需要精神科护理的学生建立一个及时且有吸引力的转诊系统；应设立一条由学生管理的电话热线；并且需要进一步研究以改善马凯雷雷大学学生的咨询服务。
