Nursing: Risky Business? An Examination of Suicide Rates in Nursing

Abstract

Suicide is a rising concern within the general population, but it is an increasingly growing concern among the nursing profession as well. The CDC defines suicide as “death caused by injuring oneself with the intent to die” (2019). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the suicide rate among nurses is statistically more frequent than that of the general population (Peterson, et. al, 2016). Furthermore, suicide rates in female nurses were 11.97 per 100,000 persons/year compared to 7.58 per 100,00 among women in the general population, and in male nurse suicide rates were 39.8 per 100,000 person/year compared to 28.2 per 100,000 persons per year among the general population (Davidson, et al., 2019). Over the years there has been an increased focus on the correlation between nurses and suicide rates among this population. Utilizing and expanding upon current research would allow this generation of nurses to understand and prevent suicide among their colleagues. The purpose of this brief is to examine the relationship between the nursing occupation and suicide rate. This is important for nurses to understand and explore to reveal causational factors that they can address and/or prevent in their profession.