Citation

Hiswåls AS, Ghilagaber G, Wijk K, ÖBerg P, Soares J, Macassa G. Health Sci. J. 2015; 9(1): 1-9.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Technological Educational Institute of Athens)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Suicide is a public health problem and an important indicator of severe mental ill-health. Thus, identifying risk factors for suicidal ideation is a public health priority. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between employment status and suicidal ideation in Gävleborg County.

METHOD: The study used data from the 2010 Health in Equal Terms survey, a cross-sectional survey carried out in Gävleborg County in Sweden. A total of 4,245 individuals, aged 16-65 years were included in the analyses. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were carried out to assess the relationship between employment status and suicidal ideation Results: Individuals outside the labour market had odds of suicidal ideation of 4.21 (CI 3.14-5.64) compared to their employed counterparts. Controlling for other covariates, reduced the risk from 4.21(CI 3.14-5.64) in model I, to 1.73 (CI 1.16- 2.57) in model IV, but remained statistically significant. In addition, other variables were associated with suicidal ideation.

CONCLUSION: There was a statistically significant association between being out of work and suicidal ideation. The association was explained partly by demographic, socio-economic and self-reported psychological variables.

RESULTS of the study suggest the need for primary prevention strategies among those out of the labour market, especially during times of economic hardship. © iMedPub.

Language: en

Keywords

Suicidal ideation; Employment status; Health inequalities