Abstract:
Abstract
Background: Suicide is a prominent source of injury and death around the world and it is the
most cause of premature death in the prison population. Therefore, assessing suicidal ideation,
attempt and associated factors among prisoners is a vital role for early prevention of suicidal
thought and attempt.
Objectives: To assess the prevalence and associated factors of suicidal ideation and attempt
among prisoners in South Gondar zone correctional centers, North West Ethiopia, 2022.
Methods: An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 23 to June 22,
2022 at South Gondar correctional institutions. Simple random sampling technique was used to
select sample of 803 participants. The standard Composite international diagnostic interview
questionnaires were used to assess suicidal ideation and attempt. Binary and multivariate logistic
regression an analysis was used to identify factors associated with suicidal ideation and attempt.
Statistical significant was declared at 95% confidence interval (CI) of p-value ?0.05.
Results: A total of 788 participants were involved with the response rate of 98.2%. The
prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempt among prisoners were found to be 23.6% and 10.7%,
with 95% CI (20.76, 26.70) and (8.68, 13.02), respectively. Female sex (AOR=2.38, 95% CI:
1.12, 5.05), family history of mental illness (AOR=3.09, 95% CI: 1.93, 4.88), depression
(AOR=2.04, 95% CI: 1.43, 2.98), poor social support (AOR=2.76, 95% CI: 1.56, 4.85) and
previous incarceration (AOR=1.84, 95% CI: 1.18, 2.86) were significantly associated with
suicidal ideation. Whereas, being single (AOR=2.58, 95% CI: 1.47, 4.54), family history of
suicide (AOR=2.43, 95% CI: 1.18, 5.01), depression (AOR=2.62, 95% CI: 1.59, 4.31) and
previous imprisonments (AOR=2.11, 95% CI: 1.20, 3.69) were factors significantly associated
with suicidal attempt.
Conclusions and recommendations: Suicidal ideation and attempt among prisoners were high
compared to the general population. Therefore, it is better to give emphasis to early detection and
provide prison mental health services in order to develop mental health care, prevention, and
intervention programs for incarcerated people.
Keywords: Suicidal ideation, suicidal attempt, Ethiopia and prison
