Casualty nurses' attitudes to attempted suicide

This study explores the attitudes of casualty nurses to attempted suicide. The nurses' age and length of experience in casualty were the independent variables. A total of 142 nurses from 11 hospitals in Northern Ireland had questionnaires circulated to them, with a 66.9% response rate. There were significant differences on four of the variables in relation to nurses' ages, and on two of the variables in relation to the nurses' length of experience in casualty. The older and the more experienced nurses seem to have more positive attitudes than the younger or the less experienced nurses. However, further nursing research, in Northern Ireland, is needed to corroborate these findings. Other recommendations are made.