Risk+Factors+for+suicide,+attitudes+toward+mental+illness,+and+practice-related+stressor+among+US+veterinarians

Nett, Randall J., Tracy K. White, Stacy M. Holzbauer, Brigid L. Elchos, Enzo R. Campagnolo, Karl J. Musgrave, Kris K. Carter, Katie M., Kurkjian, Cole F. Vanicek, Daniel R. O’Leary, Kerry R. Pride, Renee H. Funk. “Risk Factors for suicide, attitudes toward mental illness, and practice-related stressor among US veterinarians.” Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 247.8 (2015): 945-955. Print.

In this journal, the authors set out “to evaluate the prevalence of suicide risk factors, attitudes toward mental illness, and practice-related stressors among US veterinarians.” They surveyed 11.627 US veterinarians in 2014 through a web-based questionnaire to be able to provide statistical results and apply clinical relevance. Major depression is listed as an established risk factor among US veterinarians as well as in the United Kingdom and even more prevalent in Australia. The questionnaire targeted each veterinarian’s opinion on “practice setting, history of depression and mental health treatment, attitudes toward mental illness and mental health treatment, stressors related to veterinary practice, and satisfaction related to practicing veterinary medicine.” The results are broken down into each state and the number of responses to the categories previously listed.

This journal article will allow studied facts, behavior, and statistics to provide a realistic grasp on the amount of working veterinarians who have contemplated suicide. It can also be used to back up the various stressors related to depression and work place burn out that could then lead to suicidal thoughts and actions. The statistics are broken down further into age, marital status, and the type of practice the veterinarian works in. This could help with the recognizing the stressors pertaining to individual environments and potentially find solutions or counseling for them.