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Background: Religion performs a doubled edged role in a suicide crisis. On the one hand, it elicits empathic responses towards suicidal persons. On the other, it condemns and shames them. Although there is evidence that religion promotes better health and general wellbeing, little attention has been given to its role in recovery, especially after a suicide attempt. The current study explored how religion facilitated recovery among suicide attempt survivors. Methods: Using a semi-structured interview guide, we interviewed suicide attempt survivors who had attended a psychiatric unit. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Ten suicide attempters were interviewed, six females and four males. Three major themes were identified: Reasons in context, Religion in the recovery process and Renewed commitment to religious rituals/practices. Conclusions: The role of religion in suicide prevention as a resource, is a complex one. Suicide preventionists need to carefully guide and gauge their prevention efforts in context where religion is rife to provide suicide attempt survivors the most effective religious resource in their recovery trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious leaders play a key role in providing support to persons in mental health crisis. The aim of this study is to examine how religious leaders in the Ga Municipal District of Ghana perceive their role in the prevention of suicide in their community and the kinds of help they provide to persons in suicidal crisis. A semi-structured interview guide was used to gather data from 28 religious leaders. Thematic analysis of the transcribed data showed that religious leaders perceive their role in suicide prevention as frontliners with a caring obligation to help suicidal persons because of the possible loss of a life. Further, when religious leaders interact with suicidal persons, they create healing communities, provide lay counseling, provide referrals to mental health professionals, offer prayer and deliverance, provide social support, and induce hope in such persons. Implications for interprofessional collaboration and gatekeeper training for religious leaders in Ghana are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Media reporting of suicide has attracted attention globally because it has the potential to trigger copycat suicides. The absence of a national policy on suicide prevention in Ghana has left the media landscape with uncensored publication of suicide stories. The aim of this study was to examine the views of media editors on suicide and the considerations that guide them in publishing suicide stories in the country. Fourteen media reporters and editors (10 males, 4 females) from three major media houses in Accra, the capital, between the ages of 26–48 participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis of the results showed that considerations for publishing suicide stories included deterrence, didacticism, celebritism, and ethics. These considerations generally reflect the doubled-edged role of the media in suicide prevention: on the one hand, the media is a partner in public health education; but on the other hand, the media's activities can be deleterious to all preventive efforts in public health education on suicide. Implications for gatekeeper training for media personnel in suicide prevention in Ghana are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community leaders can play an important role in suicide prevention because they are potential gatekeepers in resource-poor settings. To investigate their attitudes towards suicide and the role they play when people are in suicidal crisis, 10 community leaders were interviewed in a rural community in Ghana. Thematic Analysis of the interviews showed that leaders held two conflicting views about suicide: health crisis and moral taboo. They also viewed the reasons for suicide as psychosocial strains more than psychiatric factors. Though they viewed suicide as a moral taboo, they maintained a more neutral position in their gatekeeping role: providing support for persons in suicidal crisis more often than exerting a condemnatory attitude. Implications for gatekeeper training are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Negative attitudes of health professionals towards suicide may hamper their willingness and skills to work with attempt survivors. Objective The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes of physicians and nurses towards suicide and the suicidal patient. Methods A semi-structured qualitative interview was conducted on Twenty five (25) health professionals: (15 physicians and 10 casualty nurses) from five hospitals in Accra, the capital of Ghana. Results Findings showed that while majority of physicians viewed suicide as an existential crisis, most of the nurses viewed it as a moral infraction. Three key attitudes towards suicide and the suicidal patient were observed: stable, dissonant and transitioned. The findings are discussed under three main themes: Contexts, Theorizing suicide, and Shades of attitudes. Conclusion Nurses and Physicians are key gatekeepers in suicide prevention in Ghana. Training is however, needed to improve both attitudes (especially for nurses) and competence towards suicide prevention in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the views of judges and lawyers of the superior courts of Ghana on the law criminalizing attempted suicide. Qualitative data were collected from 12 experienced legal practitioners of the superior courts (five judges and seven lawyers) using a semi-structured interview schedule. Thematic analysis of the data yielded three main perspectives: In defence of the Law, Advocating a Repeal, and Pro-Health Orientation. Although exploratory, the findings of this study offer cues for stepping up suicide literacy and advocacy programmes toward either a repeal of the law or a reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Family members are key in detecting early suicide warning signs. This study compared the reasons for suicidality as reported by attempt survivors with their family folks in Ghana.Methods: A qualitative design was used to select a sample size of 20 (10 family members and 10 suicide attempt survivors). Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.Results: Analysis of the data showed two major themes: 1) Similar Reasons (where both families and attempt survivors consistently reported similar reasons for suicidality and 2) Different Reasons (where there were sharp divergences).Conclusions: Findings from this study help to understand the readiness of attempt survivor family members to intervene early during suicidal crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]