The Healing Process Following a Suicide Attempt : Context and Intervening Conditions

[[abstract]]The purpose of this study was to explore the context and the intervening conditions that impacted on individuals' healing from a suicide attempt. Patients who had survived a suicide attempt (n = 14) and their caregivers (n = 6) were interviewed in this study. Findings revealed that the suicidal individuals who lived in a sheltered, friendly environment, and had support systems helped their suicidal healing process. Conversely, suicidal individuals who experienced negative aspects of self, family predicaments, environmental difficulties, and the re-emergence of stressors impeded their suicidal healing process. Consequently, health professionals need to promote healthy internal and external environments for suicidal individuals. The World Health Organization (2013) reported that approximately one million people die from suicide every year and that the known global mortality rate for suicide is 16 per 100,000 individuals. The suicide rate in many countries exceeds 16 per 100,000 individuals, for example: the Republic of Korea (31.0/100,000 in 2009); Japan (24.4/100,000 in 2009); France (16.3/100,000 in 2007) and in Taiwan (16.2/100,000 in 2012) (World Health Organization, 2013). In Taiwan, the suicide rate reached a peak of 19.3 per 100,000 in 2006 (Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Taiwan, ROC, 2013). Hence, suicide prevention centres were created, and a suicide report format was established in 2006 for helping to reduce the high suicide rate in Taiwan (Suicide Prevention Centre, 2007). Official records in 2011 showed that the suicide rate in Taiwan has decreased to 15.1 per 100,000 (Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Taiwan, ROC, 2013). However, the report also shows that the number of suicide attempts has gradually increased since 2006 (Lee, 2013). It is well documented that both culture and environment have an impact on peoples' healing following a suicide attempt (Sun et al., 2008 and Tzeng et al., 2010). It is paramount that health professionals recognize and take steps to improve both the internal and external environment that impacts on peoples' healing process after their suicide attempt