UC Davis

Objectives

Nearly half of all men who die by suicide visit a primary care clinician (PCC) in the month before death, yet few disclose suicide thoughts. We solicited stakeholders' views to guide development of a tailored multimedia program to activate middle-aged men experiencing suicide thoughts to engage with PCCs.

Methods

We conducted semi-structured interviews with 44 adults self-identifying as: suicide attempt survivor; family member/loved one of person(s) who attempted or died by suicide; PCC; non-PCC office staff; health administrator; and/or prevention advocate. We coded recorded interview transcripts and identified relevant themes using grounded theory.

Results

Two thematic groupings emerged, informing program design: structure and delivery (including belief the program could be effective and desire for use of plain language and media over text); and informational and motivational content (including concerns about PCC preparedness; fear that disclosing suicide thoughts would necessitate hospitalization; and influence of male identity and masculinity, respectively, in care-seeking for and interpreting suicide thoughts).

Conclusion

Stakeholder input informed the design of a primary care tailored multimedia suicide prevention tool.

Practice implications

In revealing a previously unreported barrier to disclosing suicide thoughts to PCCs (fear of hospitalization), and underscoring known barriers, the findings may suggest additional suicide prevention approaches.