Abstract:
Increasing statistics on suicidal behaviour are a global concern, and South Africa is no
exception. Non-fatal suicidal behaviour (NFSB) among adolescents specifically is also
growing at an alarming rate. These trends put tremendous pressure on the health care systems
responsible for emergency assistance in cases where suicide attempts result in admission to
hospital. Despite this critical health resource consumption, information on health care
personnel’s experiences of this patient group is scarce. In addition, while intensive work has
been done on the clinical management of adolescent suicidal behaviour, an understanding of
their experiences in relation to the suicide attempt and subsequent hospital admission remains
limited. This qualitative investigation was aimed at exploring the experiences of adolescents
admitted to a Gauteng public hospital following a suicide attempt, as well as the experiences
of the health care providers who take care of them following admission. The study was based
on Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, utilizing semi-structured individual interviews and
focus groups as methods of investigation. Analysis of the data sets culminated in a discussion
of the following combined themes: a) placement of this patient group in the hospital setting,
b) a possibly impulsive element to the suicidal act, c) intent to die, d) judgement and e) a
specific focus on the associated experiences of nursing professionals. The holistic exploration
of related experiences provides some insight into the complexity of in-hospital health care for
adolescent suicidal behaviour in the current study context, as well as factors contributing to the
possible persistence of suicide risk.
