6 May 2022
Funded by UK veterinary employers and The University of Edinburgh Business School, a core objective of the study is to look at how limiting access to means could cut the high rate.
James Westgate
Job Title
Image: © Ermolaev Alexandr / Adobe Stock
A groundbreaking study hopes to find new ways of reducing the high rate of suicide in the veterinary profession by making workplaces safer.
Funded by veterinary employers across the UK and The University of Edinburgh Business School, one of the core objectives of the interview study is to look at how limiting access to means could cut the veterinary suicide rate – which is currently three to four times higher than seen in the general population.
Led by mental health and suicide prevention researcher Rosie Allister, the Suicide Prevention in Veterinary Workplaces Project – which will be recruiting for participants soon – will also look in detail at the experiences of people who have lost a veterinary professional to suicide and the experiences of veterinary professionals who have been suicidal.
While previous studies into suicide rates in the profession have been undertaken, less work has been done on looking in detail at how people experience veterinary suicide loss and attempts, and at what works in veterinary suicide prevention.
Dr Allister, who also manages Vetlife Helpline, said: “This is an in-depth interview study looking in detail at some of the things we don’t know about veterinary suicide.
“One of the areas we are looking at is about the issue of access to means.
“This is really important to understand because, while we know that generally in suicide prevention doing things to make access to means more difficult is effective and reduces deaths, there are things that make that more complicated in vets, including animal welfare considerations and unintended consequences of restriction, which might in themselves increase risk.
“To better understand this, we are trying to explore things that influence methods used in suicide attempts, and also how people feel about and experience restrictions of access to means in veterinary workplaces.”
She added: “We are also looking in detail at experiences of people who have lost a veterinary professional to suicide. These experiences haven’t been included in research and are really important. Also, experiences of veterinary professionals who have been suicidal and who have come through that.
“It’s really important to understand these experiences so we can understand the best ways to help.”
However, Dr Allister – who has worked in suicide prevention for more than 15 years – stressed that suicide is not caused by a single factor, and that finding ways to reduce access to means is just one part of the solution.
Dr Allister added: “There are other factors involved, too. People often suggest occupational stress, professional isolation and reluctance to seek help (or difficulty accessing help) for problems, as well as increased prevalence of mental health problems.
“Other factors have been suggested, too, including: the way we talk and think about suicide as a profession; aspects of veterinary identity and professional culture; complaints and disciplinary processes; factors around the transition to practice; suicide bereavement; effects of training; effects of disease epidemics; debt and financial pressures; and effects of gender.
“There are more factors that are discussed in the evidence, too, where the evidence is mixed, including: attitudes to death and euthanasia; selection factors as a result of the personality of those attracted to and selected into veterinary training; a perceived lack of other career options; and stress and burnout.”
Researchers will soon be looking to recruit people to take part in the study who are residents in the UK, older than 18 years of age and have been affected by veterinary suicide.
Dr Allister said: “Being affected by veterinary suicide can be in different ways. This may be experience of suicide bereavement. It may be a vet or vet nurse with experience of suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts. It may be that someone works in a veterinary workplace where there has been a suicide attempt or death by suicide and this affected them.
“People may also have experience of managing a veterinary workplace where there has been a suicide attempt or death by suicide, or be someone who makes decisions about how to manage suicide risk in veterinary workplaces.
“It’s important nobody feels pressured to get involved – it’s very much a decision for people to make themselves.
“Before people take part, there will be a lot of information available about the study to help people decide whether taking part is right for them.
“Keeping participants safe is very important to us. The study is subject to an ethics committee review and other governance processes at The University of Edinburgh.”
Anyone interested in taking part can look at the Suicide Prevention in Veterinary Workplaces Project on The University of Edinburgh Business School website or contact [email protected]
