Physicians and Suicide (IN: The Handbook of Physician Health: the Essential Guide to Understanding the Health Care Needs of Physicians, edited by L S Goldman, M Myers, & L J Dickstein)

This chapter focuses on physician suicide in the United States, although reference is made to studies from other countries that may shed light on understanding the cause & prevention of this behaviour. This chapter will: 1) analyze methodology problems in surveillance & epidemiology associated with prior efforts; 2) summarize the existing American literature on physican suicide; 3) offer conclusions about prevention based on risk data; & 4) suggest research efforts to inform future discussions of this topic. (65 refs.)