Literacy and stigma of suicide among medical students in Tunisia

Background: Medical students are future physicians, so it is important that they adopt compassionate attitudes toward suicidal patients and possess a good level of suicide literacy. we aimed to evaluate stigmatizing beliefs and suicide literacy among medical students and identify the factors that influence stigmatizing beliefs and suicide literacy among medical students. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on a representative sample of medical students at Faculty of medicine of Sousse during the 2022–2023 academic year. A . Results: The total number of students included was 265, of whom 65% were female. T Regarding suicide-related history, 38% had experienced suicidal thoughts and 20% had attempted suicide. The average LOSS (Literacy of Suicide Scale) score was 4.17. The average scores for the subdimensions of the SOSS (Stigma of Suicide Scale) – Stigmatization, Glorification, and Isolation – were 2.27, 2.41, and 3.4, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that having a family member with a history of suicide was associated with a higher level of suicide literacy (p < 0.001). Being male (p < 0.001) and not passing the psychiatry exam (p < 0.001) were associated with more stigmatizing attitudes toward suicide. Conclusion: Students at our faculty demonstrated a low level of suicide literacy. They did not exhibit stigmatizing attitudes toward suicide. The theoretical and practical teaching module had an impact on suicide stigma but not on literacy levels.