Perspectives on Suicide

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Globally an estimated one million deaths every year are a result of suicide, which is more than all wars, conflicts, terrorist attacks and homicides combined annually. Over the past century studies have revealed that suicides occur in almost all societies and cultures (Khan and Mian, 2010). Therefore there exists a profound need for understanding this complex phenomenon and the challenging ethical issues for individuals, health care providers, governments and society. For centuries there have been philosophical debates on the act of suicide with no clear answers, due to the complexity of the topic. Mental health care professionals, especially mental health nurses, directly caring for suicidal patients should be aware of their own beliefs as well as the legal and ethical issues associated with caring for suicidal patients. Mental health nurses are encouraged to understand their own and other nurses’ attitudes and responses to suicide. There are two relevant ethical viewpoints regarding suicide: the moralistic and the libertarian perspective.
Discuss two contrasting ethical frameworks or principles.
The moralist perspective takes the position that suicide is unacceptable and that the overriding moral obligation is to protect life and prevent suicide (Cutcliffe and Links, 2008a). Therfore suicide is never considered a rationale option. This perspective is what continues to guide contemporary clinical practice. As a mental health nurse, there is an obligation to intervene and prevent the action of suicide with suicidal patients. There have always existed a vast range of viewpoints and attitudes concerning suicide, but for the most part it has been regarded as morally unacceptable and as such must be prevented, whenever poss...

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...., & Links, P. S. (2008b). Whose life is it anyway? An exploration of five contemporary ethical issues that pertain to the psychiatric nursing care of the person who is suicidal: Part two. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 17, 246-254. doi:10/1111/j.1447-0349.2008.00540.x
Khan, M. M., & Mian, A. I. (2010). ‘The one truly serious philosophical problem’: Ethical aspects of suicide. International Review Of Psychiatry, 22 (3), 288-293. doi:10.3109/09540261.2010.484017
Lakeman, R., & Fitzgerald, M. (2009). Ethical suicide research: A survey of researchers. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 18, 10-17. doi:10.1111/j.1447-0349.2008.00569.x
Talseth, A., & Gilje, F. (2011). Nurses' responses to suicide and suicidal patients: a critical interpretive synthesis. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20 (11-12), 1651-1667. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03490.x

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