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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry

Sec. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation

This article is part of the Research TopicPathways to Mental Health Resilience in Emergency Personnel: Protective Strategies and Occupational ChallengesView all 9 articles

Attitudes of medical professionals towards high-risk suicidal patients

Provisionally accepted
Tomonori KashiwagiTomonori Kashiwagi1Yusuke TsuyamaYusuke Tsuyama1Naohiro YonemotoNaohiro Yonemoto2,3Ryutaro IshibashiRyutaro Ishibashi1Kenji NaritaKenji Narita1Chiaki KawanishiChiaki Kawanishi1*
  • 1Department of Neuropsychiatry, Sapporo Medical University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
  • 2Department of Biostatistics, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
  • 3Department of Public Health, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

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Aim Suicide is a serious global public health challenge recognised as a high priority by the World Health Organization. Knowledge and attitudes of healthcare professionals and first responders play a critical role in suicide prevention. This study aimed to clarify attitudes and influencing factors among paramedics, nurses, and social workers in Japan. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey between 2015 and 2022 using a self-administered paper questionnaire. The Japanese version of the Attitudes Toward Suicide scale assessed six factors using a five-point Likert scale. A linear regression model was used to analyse variations associated with age, gender, profession, and experience. Results Among 685 respondents, 443 provided valid responses (paramedics: 34.8%, nurses: 38.8%, social workers: 26.4%). Paramedics were more likely than social workers to regard suicide as unjustified act (β = 0.474, 95% CI: 0.167–0.780, P = 0.003) and as a threat (β = 0.450, 95% CI: 0.142–0.757, P = 0.004), and less likely to think suicide can happen to anyone (β = −0.640, 95% CI: −0.855–−0.425, P < 0.001). Nurses regarded suicide as a threat (β = 0.394, 95% CI: 0.134–0.653, P = 0.003) and as an impulsive act (β = 0.220, 95% CI: 0.024–0.416, P = 0.028). Conclusion This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article Although we found differences in attitudes towards suicide between health professionals, there were also many commonalities. By holding workshops with a wide range of professionals, and deepening mutual understanding, it may be possible to implement seamless suicide prevention measures.

Keywords: Attitude toward suicide, Nurse, social worker, Fire and emergency services personnel, suicide prevention

Received: 26 Jun 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Kashiwagi, Tsuyama, Yonemoto, Ishibashi, Narita and Kawanishi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Chiaki Kawanishi, chiakikawanishi@gmail.com

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