Role of Mental Health Nurses in Reducing Suicide Rate in Australia

MENTAL HEALTH
NURSING

QUESTION
What role can mental health nurses play in reducing the suicide rate in Australia?
Suicide is one of the most leading cause of death in Australia. It is extremely important to
focus upon reducing changes of suicide and preventing people from attempting suicide. People
of age group 25 to 59 years of age are seen to attempt suicide (Cause of death, Australia, 2020).
There are various causes because of which people choose suicide as an option to end their life
some of them are: depression, failure, financial crises and many more. It is important to focus
upon reducing suicide rate and prevent people from committing suicide (Hagen, Knizek &
Hjelmeland, 2017). In order to prevent suicide and help such people in overcoming their
depression or feeling of committing suicide. In such case mental health nurses plays vital role.
Mental health nurses can help in preventing suicide at both system and patient level. At system
level they can help in development of safe environment, provide training to other staff members
and maintain consistence of patient with zero suicide (Thomas, 2017). At patient level they can
focus upon providing psychotherapeutic interventions, monitor risk level of patient and reduce
their vulnerability of depression, feeling of failure etc.
Mental health nurses can help in reducing suicide rate as they can understand
phenomenon of suicide, they have skills that can help them in analysing reason because of which
patient was committing suicide and how prone are they to commit suicide again (Sanford &
et.al., 2020). They can use their skills and knowledge in development of suicide prevention
interventions that can help in reducing though of suicide and motivate them so that they can
participate within their recovery. Mental health nurses are skilled and trained in such a manner
that they can manage personal attitude, belief and reaction of patients or people who are
vulnerable to suicide (Hagen, Knizek & Hjelmeland, 2017). They focus upon providing more
emotional care to patient in order to change their negative beliefs of ending their lives, reduce
their vulnerability to another suicide attempt and motivate them so that they can focus upon
living their life.
Mental health nurses understand importance of psychological pain. Not only this, they
have skills that can help them in understanding and validating emotional condition and state of
the patient (Mok & et.al., 2016). They use their skills to make patient understand their vulnerable
stage and points because of which they were wrong in committing suicide. Not only this they
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