Browsing by Author "Chiu, W-T."

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    Treatment of suicidal people around the world
    (ROYAL COLLEGE OF PSYCHIATRISTS, BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY 17 BELGRAVE SQUARE, LONDON SW1X 8PG, ENGLAND, 2011) Bruffaerts, R.; Demyttenaere, K.; Hwang, I.; Chiu, W-T.; Sampson, N.; Kessler, R.C.; Alonso, J.; Borges, G.; De Girolamo, G.; De Graaf, R.; Florescu, S.; Gureje, O.; Hu, C.; Karam, E.G.; Kawakami, N.; Kostyuchenko, S.; Kovess-Masfety, V.; Lee, S.; Levinson, D.; Matschinger, H.; Posada-Villa, J.; Sagar, R.; Scott, K.M.; Stein, D.J.; Tomov, T.; Viana, M.C.; Nock, M.K.; UPC KUL, Univ Hosp Gasthuisberg, Louvain, Belgium; ronny.bruffaerts@med.kuleuven.be
    Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide; however, little information is available about the treatment of suicidal people, or about barriers to treatment. Aims: To examine the receipt of mental health treatment and barriers to care among suicidal people around the world. Method: Twenty-one nationally representative samples worldwide (n=55 302; age 18 years and over) from the World Health Organization's World Mental Health Surveys were interviewed regarding past-year suicidal behaviour and past-year healthcare use. Suicidal respondents who had not used services in the past year were asked why they had not sought care. Results: Two-fifths of the suicidal respondents had received treatment (from 17% in low-income countries to 56% in high-income countries), mostly from a general medical practitioner (22%), psychiatrist (15%) or non-psychiatrist (15%). Those who had actually attempted suicide were more likely to receive care. Low perceived need was the most important reason for not seeking help (58%), followed by attitudinal barriers such as the wish to handle the problem alone (40%) and structural barriers such as financial concerns (15%). Only 7% of respondents endorsed stigma as a reason for not seeking treatment. Conclusions: Most people with suicide ideation, plans and attempts receive no treatment. This is a consistent and pervasive finding, especially in low-income countries. Improving the receipt of treatment worldwide will have to take into account culture-specific factors that may influence the process of help-seeking.