RESUMEN
In Hungary, which has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world, physician assisted suicide (PAS) and euthanasia are punishable criminal acts. Attitudes towards self destruction and assisted suicide are, however, very controversial. We investigated the attitudes of medical students, nurses and social science students in Hungary towards PAS, using a twelve item scale: the total number of participants was 242. Our results indicate a particular and controversial relationship between attitudes towards assisted suicide in Hungary and experience with terminally ill people. The social science students, who had the fewest personal experiences with terminally ill patients, are characterised by the most permissive attitudes towards assisted suicide. Nurses, who had everyday contact and experience with these patients, were the most conservative, being least supportive of assisted suicide. The attitudes of medical students, the would be physicians, are somewhere between those of nurses and social science students.
Asunto(s)
Actitud del Personal de Salud , Actitud Frente a la Muerte , Enfermeras y Enfermeros/psicología , Estudiantes/psicología , Suicidio Asistido , Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , Hungría , Masculino , Ciencias Sociales , Estudiantes de Medicina/psicología , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
Suicidal deaths which occurred in Baranya County, Hungary between 1983 and 1987 were investigated with regard to biodemographical aspects. The number of suicidal deaths for this period was 1056 and the rate for this region was higher in villages than in towns. The male: female ratio was 3:1. The analysis of age groups showed that the rate increased with age and that the most frequent method was by hanging (50-55%). Moreover in 375 cases in-depth interviews were made with the relatives. The analysis of the interviews showed that 20% of elderly males could not cope with their losses and found no way out except through suicide. Suicide was less frequent among persons with intellectual occupations. Severe alcohol abuse was found in 165 cases. In 83% of the 1056 cases studied, pathological disorders of varying severity were observed. Toxicological analysis was performed in 810 cases but 17.9% of these cases should be isolated since they involved acute drug intoxication. Our data showed that most of the suicide victims contacted a doctor and received some treatment immediately before death or not long before. The present health and geriatric care systems in Hungary do not provide a level of psychotherapeutic care which could protect the population at risk from suicide. In our opinion, it would be reasonable to develop the knowledge of practitioners and health care personnel working in this field.