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Review
. 2021 Apr 30;16(4):e0251038.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251038. eCollection 2021.

Occupational exposure to suicide: A review of research on the experiences of mental health professionals and first responders

Renan Lopes de Lyra  1 , Sarah K McKenzie  1 , Susanna Every-Palmer  1 , Gabrielle Jenkin  1
Affiliations
Review

Occupational exposure to suicide: A review of research on the experiences of mental health professionals and first responders

Renan Lopes de Lyra et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Exposure to suicide is a major factor for suicidality. Mental health professionals and first responders are often exposed to suicide while on-duty. The objective of this scoping review is to describe the state of current research on exposure to suicide among mental health professionals and first responders, focusing on the prevalence and impact of exposure to suicide, and to identify current gaps in the literature. We searched MEDLINE, Scopus, PsychNET, and Web of Science and identified 25 eligible papers. Between 31.5-95.0% of professionals had been exposed to suicide. Exposure to suicide had impacts on personal life, professional life, and mental health; and caused emotional distress. There was little research investigating exposure to suicide among police officers, firefighters, and paramedics. More research existed on mental health professionals, but none assessed exposure to suicide as a risk for suicide amongst this group. The review concludes that exposure to suicide is distressing for mental health professionals, and likely to be for first responder however, more research on these groups, especially paramedics, is required.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Prisma chart flow.
Paper selection and eligibility for the review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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