| Biography | |
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 Prof. Surya Raj Niraula B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Nepal |
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| Title: Suicide and its stressors among the residents of Ilam, eastern Nepal: An investigation into a neglected burden | |
| Abstract: Background: Suicide is the death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with intent to die as a result of the behavior.” It is increasingly being recognized as a global public health concern. The objectives were to identify different stressors associated with suicide in the residents of Illam and to explore the socio-demographic characteristics of Nepalese suicidal victims and the survivors. Methods: This is a community based case-control study conducted at Illam with 1:2 ratio. Data collection was made through registered cases within 5 years of duration in Illam district and their suicide survivors (family members) or neighbours. Chi-square test for independent association and logistic regression for multivariate analysis were used to find out the association of suicide and its stressor adjusting with other possible factors. Results: Most suicides were done by adults of 40-50 age group and by the young population mostly in teens with the male predominance, majority being educated and married young adults. Majority had the positive history of psychiatric disorder, the most common being depression. The most common method of suicide was hanging followed by poisoning. Those who had intimate partner violence were almost 6 times more likely to commit suicide than those who had not (P<0.004). Substance abuse and addiction were found to be strong independent predictors for committing suicide (P<0.001). The risk of depression is 4.5 times higher among cases in comparison to controls. The interpersonal relationship problems, domestic disputes and financial problems were associated with suicide. Conclusion: A great majority of cases revealed a stressor during the time of suicide and the most common stressors were: interpersonal dispute/conflict/quarrel, health/treatment related and easy access to the means of self harm. Community based public awareness program should be done in order to decrease the substance dependence & abuse as the risk factors of suicide in Nepal. Conflict of interest: Not declare *Contact person Dr. Surya Raj Niraula, PhD Professor School of Public Health & Community Medicine B.P.Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan | |
| Biography: Dr. Surya Raj Niraula is a Professor of School of Public Health and Community Medicine at B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS), Dharan, Nepal. He completed his post graduate degree in Statistics from Central Department of Statistics, Kirtipur, Kathmandu and his doctorate degree in Statistics at the same academic institution. He completed post doctoral (Biostatistics) from University of Washington, USA under the Fulbright program in 2013. Dr. Niraula is continuously working at BPKIHS for 21 years. He has profundity knowledge on Biostatistics, research methodology and data analysis. He teaches Biostatistics for Master Level Public Health, M.Sc. Nursing and Post Graduate Medical students. He has conducted several health researches as a principal investigator. He is interested in mental health, substance abuse and psychological public health research. He also has excellent disseminating skill on research findings which can be scrutinized through almost six dozens of international and national publications. He is ediotorial board members of many international journals. He was awarded with ‘Young Scientist Award’ in 2009, Nepal Bidhyabhusan ‘KA’ in 2010 and Honored by the President - Constitutional Assembly, 2011. He has presented many conference papers in USA, UK, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, India and Nepal. In addition to writing scholarly publication, he enjoys sports, listening music and writing creatively as a hobby. He currently resides in Dharan with his wife and two children and is now working on his first book of Biostatistics. You can reach him at surajniraula@gmail.com. | |
