Table 2.
Self-reported attitudes and preparedness for involvement in suicide prevention before and after an awareness video.
| Pre-video (n = 147^) | Post-video (n = 147^) | |
|---|---|---|
| Attitudes to suicide prevention scale items mean (standard deviation) $ | ||
| a. I resent being asked to do more about suicide | 1.61 (0.90) | ⁎1.44 (0.83) |
| b. Suicide prevention is not my responsibility | 1.55 (0.74) | ⁎1.45 (0.68) |
| c. Making more funds available to the appropriate health services would make no difference to the suicide rate | 1.83 (1.10) | 1.73 (1.17) |
| d. Working with suicidal patients is rewarding | 3.70 (0.86) | ⁎3.90 (0.96) |
| e. If people are serious about suicide, they don't tell anyone | 2.89 (1.18) | ⁎2.47 (1.19) |
| f. I feel defensive when people offer advice about suicide prevention | 1.92 (0.86) | ⁎1.74 (0.78) |
| g. It is easy for people not involved in clinical practice to make judgements about suicide prevention | 3.42 (1.00) | ⁎3.18 (1.06) |
| h. If a person survives a suicide attempt, then this was a ploy for attention | 1.89 (1.03) | ⁎1.75 (1.00) |
| i. People have the right to take their own lives | 2.74 (1.17) | 2.68 (1.12) |
| j. Since unemployment and poverty are the main causes of suicide, there is little than an individual can do to prevent it | 1.67 (0.79) | ⁎1.55 (0.74) |
| k. I don't feel comfortable assessing someone for suicide risk | 2.77 (1.04) | ⁎2.42 (1.06) |
| l. Suicide prevention measures are a drain on resources, which would be more useful elsewhere | 1.54 (0.77) | ⁎1.38 (0.61) |
| m. There is no way of knowing who is going to die by suicide | 2.86 (1.09) | ⁎2.56 (1.12) |
| n. What proportion of suicides do you consider preventable? | 3.74 (0.77) | ⁎3.95 (0.77) |
| Attitudes towards suicide prevention overall score$ | 31.20 (6.04) | ⁎28.40 (6.50) |
| Perceived preparedness to …^ | ||
| Identify signs of suicide | 1.89 (0.69) | ⁎2.47 (0.69) |
| Respond appropriately to people who have plans or thoughts of suicide | 1.88 (0.74) | ⁎2.58 (0.76) |
| To reassure people who talk about plans or thoughts of suicide | 1.94 (0.77) | ⁎2.64 (0.81) |
| To provide appropriate signposting or resources to someone who has plans or thoughts of suicide | 2.16 (0.81) | ⁎2.86 (0.83) |
| To decide whether intervention from another healthcare professional is necessary for someone who has plans or thoughts of suicide | 2.18 (0.85) | ⁎2.83 (0.77) |
^Maximum of 147 individuals as not all participants answered all questions. N = 143 in the ASP overall score.
$
Attitudes to suicide prevention (ASP) overall score (Herron et al.)24 is the sum of the individual items. Scale: 1 = strongly disagree - 5 = strongly agree for all items apart from item “n”, where the scale is 1 = none - 5 = all. Items “d” & “n” are score inversed for inclusion in the aggregate score.
⁎
Statistically significant at p < 0.05 level in paired comparison.