Suicide With Psychiatric Diagnosis and Without Utilization of Psychiatric Service

A behavioural model of health service use was applied to identify factors associated with the utilization of psychiatric services among suicide victims in Hong Kong. A comparison was made between 52 victims who had contact & 67 victims who had not made any contact with a psychiatrist in the 6 months prior to death. The 2 groups could be distinguished from each other by predisposing varibles – age group & gender, & most of the enabling & need variables tested. Multiple logistic regression analysis found 4 factors were significantly associated with non-contact: having non-psychotic disorders, unmanageable debts, being fully/partially/self-employed at the time of death, & having higher levels of social problem-solving ability. Universal & strategic suicide prevention measures need to be developed in non-medical settings to reach out to this non-contact group. (56 refs.)