An Interventional Study Using Small-group Discussion: Changing Attitude toward Suicide in Undergraduate Health Professionals

Background: Teenage and young adult suicide is a growing problem worldwide.Suicidal ideation is disproportionately prevalent among medical students due to academic stress, stigma, and limited access to resources.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 401 medical undergraduates to determine the effectiveness of a small-group intervention on attitudes toward suicide and to estimate the help-seeking behavior for emotional problems.The study participants were divided into different small groups (15 students per batch).A small-group discussion about suicide was held in each batch with due permission.Attitudes toward suicide were measured before and after the small-group discussion using Eskin's Attitude Towards Suicide Scale, Eskin's Social Reaction to Suicidal Person Scale, and General Help-seeking Questionnaire Scale.Descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, and regression analysis were applied using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).Results: When comparing the responses of participants in a small group before and after the intervention, there were significant differences in attitudes toward suicide.Factors such as the "acceptability of suicide" (p < 0.01), "punishment after death" (p < 0.01), "suicide as a sign of mental illness" (p < 0.01), "communicating psychological problems" (p < 0.01), "hiding suicidal behavior" (p < 0.01), and "open reporting and discussion of suicide" (p < 0.01) all showed notable changes.Acceptability of suicide scores were significantly higher among urban students (p = 0.02, 95% CI: 0.06-0.65),participants with prior experience of helping a person with suicidal behavior (p = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.03-0.70),and those without a family history of suicide (p = 0.02, 95% CI: 0.07-0.81).Disapproval of suicidal disclosure was significantly higher among females than males (p = 0.002, 95% CI: 0.08-0.38),students residing at home than in hostels (p = 0.004, 95% CI: 0.07-0.37),and those without a family history of suicide (p = 0.006, 95% CI: 0.08-0.49),while the rural-urban difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.199, 95% CI: 0.06-0.27). Conclusion:The small-group intervention significantly made positive changes in attitudes and behaviors related to suicide among medical students.It promoted openness, empathy, and increased help-seeking behaviors.