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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

EV1311

Primary care professionals' perceptions and training needs regarding suicide prevention: A qualitative study in the Balearic Islands

PERCEPTIONS AND TRAINING NEEDS OF PRIMARY HEALTH CARE WORKERS IN SUICIDE PREVENTION: A QUALITATIVE STUDY IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS

Although primary care is uniquely positioned to prevent suicide, ten-minute consultation limits, fragmented systems, and stigma-driven avoidance hinder implementation, while professionals call for structured, recurring skills training.

The study aimed to examine primary care health professionals' perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge regarding suicide in the Balearic Islands and to identify barriers and facilitators to inform a competency-based training framework. A qualitative phenomenological design was used, involving 40 health professionals through 4 focus groups (n = 20) and 3 individual interviews (n = 20); 82.5% (n = 33) of participants were women and 17.5% (n = 7) were men, with a mean age of 43.8 years (standard deviation (SD) = 11.1; range 20–65). The professional breakdown was 50% family physicians, 33% nurses, and 17% other health professionals (psychologists, pediatricians, midwives, and pediatric nurses). As noted in the background, approximately 80% of individuals who die by suicide visit primary care within the year before their death, approximately 54% within 90 days, approximately 45% within 30 days, and approximately 10% within the preceding week. The findings grouped systemic and cultural barriers into three categories: structural and systemic bottlenecks (time pressure, ten-minute consultations, and non-integrated electronic record systems), an unsupported gatekeeper role (the coverage paradox and crisis management without rapid referral), and clinical stigma and myths (fear of causing iatrogenic harm, assessment anxiety, and implicit biases); these contribute to clinicians' emotional burden and burnout in the form of compassion fatigue, guilt, and panic. In the clinical risk assessment matrix, the main risk factors were severe psychopathology, middle-aged men experiencing social isolation, and young people exposed to cyberbullying; protective factors were bonds with young children and socioeconomic resources (employment and support networks); and critical warning signs were behavioral withdrawal and nonverbal cues. Participants reported a lack of structured training and called for mandatory core competencies, such as direct clinical inquiry, active listening and validation, and protocol-based referral, as well as annual practical workshops incorporating real cases and role-playing, structured ten-minute screening tools, and self-care protocols. In conclusion, practical training not only addresses the skills gap but also serves as an indispensable emotional buffer against vicarious trauma, helplessness, panic, and retrospective guilt.

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