Breaking the silence: The role of nurses in suicide prevention and mental support in depression

Q3 Medicine

Ethics, Medicine and Public Health Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI:10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101195

M.N. Danbatta , O.E. Abiodun-Ojo , J.A. Afolayan

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Depression and suicide represent profound ethical and public health challenges, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where systemic inequities in mental healthcare access persist. As a leading cause of global disability, depression intersects with socioeconomic disparities, stigma, and under-resourced health systems, exacerbating suicide risks and undermining ethical imperatives of equity and justice in healthcare. Nurses, positioned at the frontline of care delivery, hold untapped potential to address these crises through early intervention, yet structural barriers and policy neglect hinder their impact.

Aim

This study examines the ethical and practical dimensions of nurses’ roles in suicide prevention and mental health support for individuals with depression. It evaluates systemic challenges, including stigma, resource constraints, and workforce preparedness, while proposing strategies to align nursing practice with public health priorities.

Methods

Through a multidisciplinary lens integrating ethics, clinical practice, and policy analysis, this study critically reviews contemporary nursing interventions, synthesizes evidence on barriers to care, and advocates for scalable solutions such as interdisciplinary collaboration, telehealth integration, and policy advocacy.

Results

Findings underscore nurses’ pivotal role in reducing suicide mortality through empathetic communication, crisis de-escalation, and community education. However, persistent gaps, including inadequate training, emotional burnout, and fragmented mental health systems, highlight ethical dilemmas in care delivery. Strategic investments in nurse education, equitable resource allocation, and anti-stigma campaigns are identified as critical to bridging these gaps.

Conclusion

Empowering nurses as ethical agents in suicide prevention requires systemic reforms that prioritize mental health equity, workforce support, and policy-driven advocacy. This study advocates for a rights-based framework to amplify nursing’s transformative potential in global public health by addressing structural determinants of mental health disparities.

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打破沉默：护士在抑郁症患者自杀预防和精神支持中的作用

抑郁症和自杀构成了深刻的伦理和公共卫生挑战，对低收入和中等收入国家（LMICs）的弱势群体造成了不成比例的影响，这些国家在获得精神卫生保健方面持续存在系统性不平等。作为全球致残的主要原因，抑郁症与社会经济差距、耻辱和资源不足的卫生系统交织在一起，加剧了自杀风险，破坏了卫生保健公平和正义的道德要求。护士处于提供护理服务的第一线，在通过早期干预解决这些危机方面具有未开发的潜力，但结构性障碍和政策忽视阻碍了其影响。目的本研究探讨护士在抑郁症患者自杀预防和心理健康支持中的角色的伦理和实践维度。它评估了系统性挑战，包括耻辱、资源限制和劳动力准备，同时提出了使护理实践与公共卫生重点保持一致的战略。方法：本研究通过多学科视角整合伦理、临床实践和政策分析，批判性地回顾了当代护理干预措施，综合了护理障碍的证据，并倡导可扩展的解决方案，如跨学科合作、远程医疗整合和政策倡导。结果研究结果强调了护士通过共情沟通、危机降级和社区教育在降低自杀死亡率方面的关键作用。然而，持续存在的差距，包括培训不足、情绪倦怠和支离破碎的精神卫生系统，突出了医疗服务中的伦理困境。在护士教育、公平资源分配和反污名化运动方面的战略投资被认为是弥合这些差距的关键。结论授权护士作为自杀预防的道德代理人需要系统性改革，优先考虑心理健康公平，劳动力支持和政策驱动的倡导。本研究倡导建立一个基于权利的框架，通过解决心理健康差异的结构性决定因素，扩大护理在全球公共卫生中的变革潜力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Ethics, Medicine and Public Health Medicine-Health Policy

CiteScore

2.20

自引率

0.00%

发文量

107

审稿时长

42 days

期刊介绍： This review aims to compare approaches to medical ethics and bioethics in two forms, Anglo-Saxon (Ethics, Medicine and Public Health) and French (Ethique, Médecine et Politiques Publiques). Thus, in their native languages, the authors will present research on the legitimacy of the practice and appreciation of the consequences of acts towards patients as compared to the limits acceptable by the community, as illustrated by the democratic debate.