Citation

Khan AR, Ratele K, Arendse N, Islam MZ, Dery I. Crisis 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa (UNISA), Cape Town, South Africa.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, International Association for Suicide Prevention, Publisher Hogrefe Publishing)

DOI

10.1027/0227-5910/a000631

PMID

31657639

Abstract

Background: Suicide and attempted suicide are a serious but under-explored public health problem in Bangladesh. Survey estimates suggest that Jhenaidah District, one of the 64 districts that make up Bangladesh, is one of the highest suicide-prone regions in Bangladesh. Relatively little is known about the magnitude of suicide attempts in the district. Aims: This article describes the incidence of suicide and suicide attempts for Jhenaidah, Bangladesh for the period 2010–2018. Method: Primary descriptive analysis was performed on routine data collected by a Bangladesh-based nongovernment organization (NGO): Societies for Voluntary Activities (SOVA). Results: A total of 22,675 suicide attempts and 3,152 suicides occurred in the district. The rate of suicide attempts was found to be 136.35/100,000 and the suicide rate was found to be 20.6/100,000 in Jhenaidah. The subdistrict Sadar had the highest incidence of suicide attempt (38.09%) and suicide (33.47%). Poisoning was the most common method of suicide attempt for both males (77.07%) and females (77%). Limitations: Many cases of suicide attempts and suicide are unreported in Bangladesh owing to stigmatization; only reported cases form part of this investigation. Conclusion: Jhenaidah has very high rates of suicide and suicide attempts that surpass the global and Bangladesh averages. Although females demonstrate higher suicide rates, male suicide rates have gradually increased over the study period. Future studies are called for to better understand the local patterns and dynamics of fatal and nonfatal suicidal behaviors. Developing a sub-district-, district-, and national-level suicide prevention strategy ought to be considered a priority.

Keywords: Bangladesh, gender, Jhenaidah, suicide, suicide attempt

Anisur Rahman Khan, Department of Sociology, East West University, A/2 Jahurul Islam Avenue, Aftabangar, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh, arkhan@ewubd.edu

Language: en

Keywords

Bangladesh; Jhenaidah; gender; suicide; suicide attempt