Responsibility and compassion in prehospital support to survivors of suicide victim – Professionals’ experiences

Summary: Complicated grief is a newly defined and distinctive psychiatric disorder that occurs in response to a significant loss through death. New findings suggest that survivors who were close to the deceased are at heightened risk for complicated grief. Little is known about whether close kinship (spouses, parents, children, siblings, vs. in-laws, aunts/uncles, nieces/nephews, friends, or coworkers) to a suicide victim also represents a heightened risk for complicated grief. Assessing for complicated grief is important, especially with survivors of suicide, because of the potential for associated health risks. This report contains preliminary data from an exploratory, descriptive pilot study examining complicated grief in adult survivors of suicide. Sixty bereaved subjects, within one month after the suicide of a family member or significant other, were assessed for complicated grief symptoms. Statistically significant differences, as measured with the Inventory of Complicated Grief, were noted between closely related and distantly related survivors of the suicide victim. These preliminary results indicate that health care professional's assessments and interventions for complicated grief should take into consideration the bereaved's familial and/or social relationship to the deceased. The closely related survivors of suicide had higher levels of complicated grief and could be at risk of developing physical and/or mental health problems, including suicidal ideation, in the future.

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Reclaiming and Reshaping Life: Patterns of Reconstruction After the Suicide of a Loved One

Qualitative Health Research ◽

10.1177/1049732316637590 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 27 (7) ◽

pp. 994-1005 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Dolores Angela Castelli Dransart

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Care Providers ◽

Suicide Survivors ◽

Loved One ◽

Life Patterns ◽

Survivors Of Suicide ◽

And Coping ◽

The Impact ◽

Depth Interviews

The objective of this study is to identify patterns (components and processes) of reconstruction of suicide survivors. In-depth interviews were conducted with 50 survivors of suicide in Switzerland. Data were analyzed using ATLAS.ti and according to the Grounded Theory principles. Survivors of suicide face four major challenges: dealing with the impact of suicide, searching for meaning, clarifying responsibility, and finding a personal style of reaction and coping. The various ways in which survivors fare through the specific processes of the challenges result in various patterns of reconstruction: the vulnerability, transformation, commitment, and hard blow. The unique characteristics and dynamics of each of them are highlighted. Health care providers would benefit from an approach based on the dynamics of the various patterns of reconstruction in providing appropriate support to survivors of suicide.

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Israeli minister orders hepatitis B vaccine for survivors of suicide bomb attacks

BMJ ◽

10.1136/bmj.323.7310.417b ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 323 (7310) ◽

pp. 417-417 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

J. Siegel-Itzkovich

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis B ◽

Hepatitis B Vaccine ◽

Survivors Of Suicide

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Request for euthanasia in the suicide note of a planned suicide

Medico-Legal Journal ◽

10.1177/0025817218789826 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 87 (2) ◽

pp. 97-99

Author(s):

Jatin Bodwal ◽

Asit Kumar Sikary ◽

Mohit Chauhan ◽

Chittaranjan Behera

Keyword(s):

Vegetative State ◽

Suicide Victim ◽

Suicide Methods ◽

Suicide Note ◽

Commit Suicide

This case is of a suicide victim who purchased various drugs online using forged prescriptions after detailed research about the drugs to commit suicide. He left a suicide note giving details of his suicide methods and the reasons for it. He also denied any treatment and asked for euthanasia if he survived and remained in a vegetative state.

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Who is a survivor of suicide loss? A systematic review

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.2243 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S601-S601

Author(s):

S. Gili ◽

C. Delicato ◽

A. Feggi ◽

C. Gramaglia ◽

P. Zeppegno

Keyword(s):

Psychological Impact ◽

Clinical Intervention ◽

Underlying Structure ◽

Unexpected Death ◽

Helping Relationship ◽

Survivors Of Suicide ◽

Suicide Bereavement ◽

Pubmed Search ◽

Competing Interest ◽

Survivor Of Suicide

IntroductionDeath by suicide stuns with soul-crushing surprise, leaving family and friends not only grieving the unexpected death, but confused and lost by this haunting loss. The underlying structure of grief for survivors of suicide loss appears complicated.AimsThe purpose of this study consists in reviewing literature data about survivors of suicide, especially exploring the few informations emerged by researches on the role of psychiatrist as “survivor”.MethodsA PubMed search was conducted using combinations of the following keywords: survivors suicide or bereavement suicide or suicide psychiatrists and randomized.The search was conducted through September 10, 2015, and no conference proceedings were included.ResultsBereavement following suicide is complicated by the psychological impact of the act on those close to the victim. It is further complicated by the societal perception that the act of suicide is a failure by the victim and the family to deal with some emotional issue and ultimately society affixes blame for the loss on the survivors. This individual or societal stigma introduces a unique stress on the bereavement process that in some cases requires clinical intervention.ConclusionsSuicide bereavement seems to be different from natural loss. Clinicians may react to a patient's suicide both on a personal and professional level, with emotions such as loss of self-esteem or blame. This grief somehow nullifies the core of a helping relationship and may imply a more conservative management of future patients or even avoiding to accept suicidal patients for treatment. Support interventions have been proposed.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Systematic Review of Preventing Suicide in Old Age: 2005–2010

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/s0924-9338(11)73723-3 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (S2) ◽

pp. 2020-2020

Author(s):

C.A. de Mendonça Lima ◽

R.M. Rodrigues

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Old Age ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

The Elderly ◽

Educational Interventions ◽

List Type ◽

Care Providers ◽

Individual Level ◽

Survivors Of Suicide ◽

Somatic Disorders

Suicide is a typical phenomenon of the elderly and mainly among men. Besides the importance of suicide in terms of public health there is fewer interest to prevent suicide in old age. This can be explained by stigma, poor evaluation of the dimension of the problem and lack of politic will.Suicide prevention and the care of survivors of suicide depend on the mental health network of care. Interventions to reduce suicide can be made at individual level and at level of the development of policies and strategies. The detection of the persons at risk of suicide and the management of the suicide attempt are two main strategies to prevent suicide. Both received recently an important support from WHO with its publication mhGAP Intervention Guide which was conceived to be used in non-specialized health-care settings by health-care providers working at first- and second-level facilities. It includes guidance on evidence-based interventions to make the diagnosis and manage a number of priority conditions, including suicide.Our review of the literature pointed to the necessity to develop additional research to determine:•the role of somatic disorders as precipitant factor;•the role on suicide of the pre-morbid personality, cognitive functioning, social support and recent and chronic stressing events;•the participation of normal and pathological ageing on the expression of the suicide behavior;•the biological markers of suicide in old age;•the potential impact on suicide rates of educational interventions for the general public and for caregivers.

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The Aftermath of Suicide: A Review of Empirical Evidence

OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying ◽

10.2190/5u9w-xmmp-31w5-j6hg ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 149-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Jan van der Wal

Keyword(s):

Empirical Evidence ◽

Causes Of Death ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Prolonged Grief ◽

Unnatural Death ◽

Survivors Of Suicide ◽

Self Image ◽

Grief Process ◽

Starting Point ◽

Theoretical Considerations

The empirical studies on mourning after suicide were evaluated systematically with the aid of a descriptive model of grief. The starting point in the formulation of this model is the assumption that the bereaved are active in their processing of the loss. The current stages and component theories are rejected on the grounds of empirical contra-evidence and theoretical considerations. Instead, a framework of tasks of bereavement is presented in which the essential tasks confronting survivors in their adaption to the loss are formulated: detachment of the deceased, preserving a satisfactory self-image, and keeping in contact with people who can be of support during the grief process. An examination is made of what is known about the situation of survivors of suicide in this respect. Grief after suicide appears to differ on a number of qualitative aspects from grief after other causes of death. These differences probably do not, however, lead to an atypical mourning process. Generally speaking, the grief process seems to show the same course and main features as those occurring after other types of death, especially after sudden unnatural death. It can be concluded from the literature reviewed that there is no empirical evidence to support the popular notion that survivors of suicide show more pathological reactions, a more complicated and prolonged grief process, than other survivor groups.

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