Men are more likely to commit suicide compared to their female counterparts, a study by psychiatrists in Northern Uganda has revealed. Suicide is a conscious act of taking ones life.
The study covering the period between 2005 and 2007, indicates that 38 cases of suicide were reported, 31 of them involving men. Of these 16 cases were reported in 2005, 10 in 2006 and 12 in 2007.
Dr. Eugen Kinyanda, a Psychiatric Consultant and lead researcher says the suicide victims were between the ages of 17 and 79. The research also revealed that suicides amongst married couples accounted for 73.7 percent of the entire cases reported.
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According to Dr Kinyanda, alcoholism was the leading cause of the suicides in Northern. He says internal conflicts amongst spouses, financial difficulties and mental illness accounted for only 5.2 percent of the cases reviewed.
The research to be presented to the Gulu district leadership next month also shows that the victims used agricultural poison, hanging and gun shots to end their lives. A similar study carried out for the period between 1974 and 2005 in Kampala also showed that suicide among men accounted for 77 percent out of the 375 cases reported.
The study recommended for the uplifting of the social economic status amongst the population, regulating the sale of poisonous chemicals and an increase to access of psychiatric and psychological services to address depression.
Simon Ndawula a Clinical Psychologist encourages people under stress to always speak out to people who can help them out of their problems. Depressed persons should seek assistance from the psychologists, counselors and elders in the community.
