Suicide Of Physicians

Year 2013, Volume: 21 Issue: 1, 33 - 39, 01.06.2013

Serdar Süleyman Can Buket Güngör Rustem Aşkın

https://doi.org/10.1501/Kriz_0000000336

Abstract

Suicide is the act of taking one’s own life intentionally. Suicides occur in people with mental disorders or medical illnesses as well as in healthy individuals who have hopelessness and desperate thoughts related to life conditions. Suicide rates among physicians are higher than those of other professionals in United States. Previous studies indicated that physicians who commit suicide suffer from a mental illness generally. A common suicide method of physicians is drug overdose and in addition using firearms is less common than general population. Physicians having more information and easy access to drugs play a major role. A previous study showed that risk of losing their medical license, fear of discrimination prevents physicians from asking help for suicide treatment. Suicide rate is 35 % among early death reasons of physicians. Suicide is responsible for 3 % of male physician deaths and 6.5 % of female physicians’ deaths. A lot of hypothesis exists for explaining suicides of physicians which are psychiatric diseases, alcohol and drug abuse, stress of medical applications, unreal expectations, role confusions, lack of professional support, resistance to psychiatric treatment, personality characteristics and psychosocial factors. In conclusion, stigma, licensing concerns and other barriers to treatment should be overcome

Keywords

Medical doctor, suicide, mental illness

Hekim intiharları

Abstract

İntihar, insanın bilerek ve isteyerek
yaşamına son vermesidir. İntihar ağır ruhsal ve
bedensel hastalıkları olan kişilerde görülebildiği
gibi, zorlu yaşam koşullarına karşı çaresizlik
ve umutsuzluk tepkisi veren normal bireylerde
de görülebilir. Amerika Birleşik Devletleri’nde
mesleki sıralama içerisinde intihar bakımından
hekimler ön sıralarda bulunmaktadır.
Çalışmalar, tamamlanmış hekim intiharlarında
genellikle altta yatan bir psikiyatrik bozukluğun
olduğunu göstermektedir. Hekimler sıklıkla
aşırı dozda maddeyle intihar eylemini
gerçekleştirmekteyken genel topluma kıyasla
daha az ateşli silah kullanmaktadır. Hekim
intiharlarında ilaçlara kolay ulaşabilme ve
ilaçlarla ilgili bilgiye sahip olmaları önemli rol
oynar. Bir çalışmada hekimlerin depresyon,
intihar ve tedavi açısından yardım almasına
engel olan faktörler: tıbbi lisanslarının tehlikeye
girmesi çekincesi, mesleki gelişim ve yetkileri
konusunda ayrımcılığa maruz kalma korkusu
olarak saptanmıştır. Hekimlerin erken ölüm
nedenleri arasında intihar %35 oranında
sorumlu tutulmuştur. ABD’de erkek hekimlerin
%3, kadın hekimlerin %6,5 oranında ölüm
sebebi intihardır. Hekim intiharlarını açıklamak
üzere birçok hipotez kurulmuştur. Bunlar
arasında psikiyatrik hastalıklar, alkol ve madde
kötüye kullanımı, tıbbi uygulamaların stres
oluşturması, gerçekçi olmayan beklentiler, rol
karmaşası, profesyonel destek azlığı,
hekimlerin yetersiz psikiyatrik tedavisi,
psikiyatrik tedaviye direnç, kişilik özellikleri ve
psikososyal faktörler sayılabilir. Sonuç olarak,
stigma, mesleki kaygılar ve tedavi önündeki
diğer engellerin üstesinden gelinmesi
gerekmektedir.

Keywords

Hekim, intihar, ruhsal hastalık

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