Suicide attempt in rural area of Vietnam: follow up with regard to repeated attempt and completed suicide

ntact
as mentioned above.
2. Completed suicide.
Six percent of our subjects were
completed suicide during the follow-up
and the majority of these during the first
year after the index attempt. This rate is
higher than the figure given by Hawton
and Fagg (1988) (1%) but lower than
Isometsa and Lonnqvist’s report (10%).
We thus confirmed that also in this
Vietnamese population, the risk of
completed suicide after the index attempt
is considerable, as it has been noted in
many Western studies.
Methods used in completed suicide were
high lethal methods, including pesticides,
hanging and drowning. It is interesting to
note that we found no cases of completed
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JOURNAL OF MILITARY PHARMACO-MEDICINE N07-2016

suicide by pharmaceutical drugs,
although
several
of
those
who
reattempted suicide using pharmaceutical

drugs. It is possible that people who do
have an intention to die from the act used
higher lethal methods and in that case it is
“better” that pharmaceutical drugs are
used in case of suicide attempt rather
than pesticides. From our study as well as
many other previous findings, we thus
confirmed that pesticides are still common
and serious method of suicide in low and
middle income countries.
In spite of small size of the study, it is
noteworthy that none of those who completed
suicide had been in contact with psychiatric
care after the index attempt. This gives
further strength to the point raised in our
previous paper [14] that access to and
public acceptance of mental health care
should be strengthened in Vietnam.
CONCLUSION
The rate of re-attempted and completed
suicide is increased among patients who
have attempted suicide, also in Vietnam.
Drugs were the main method used in reattempt, whereas completed suicide
mainly was performed by pesticides or
hanging. Mental health services should be
strengthened to take care of and follow-up
people who have attempted suicide.
Pesticides are still a public health problem
in rural areas and should be better controlled.

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