How suicide is addressed in medical education: analysis from the students’ perspective

Abstract: Introduction: Brazil has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, however there remains a stigma related to this issue and this is reflected in a lack of its critical questioning in medical training. Objective: To understand the perceptions and attitudes of medical students about issues related to suicide and to identify how the issue is included in undergraduate training. Method: A descriptive, exploratory, and cross-sectional study, using quantitative methodology. The study commenced following approval by the Research Ethics Committee and involved the participation of 188 medical students at a public university in Pará. The survey consisted of a semi-structured questionnaire presented to the participants in person after they had signed the Informed Consent Form (ICF). Result: Most of the participants attributed importance to suicide as a topic to be studied, but the researchers noted that there is little content related to the theme throughout medical education, seeing as most the participants did not know of any intervention manual or protocol for suicide situations. Furthermore, the majority of the students reported difficulties in relation to compulsory reporting. Conclusion: Despite themes related to mental health being included in academic training, the matter of suicide still needs to be tackled more intensely in medical education. This would represent an important step towards achieving more effective and qualified medical interventions, especially due to the heightened relevance of this issue in recent times.