Background:
To investigate
factors related to prevention of self-immolation in west of Iran.
Methods:
In a case-control
study, 30 consecutive cases of deliberate self-inflicted burns admitted to the
regional burn center (Imam Khomeini hospital in Kermanshah province, Iran) were
compared with controls selected from the community and matched by sex, age,
district-county of residence, and rural vs urban living environment. The
following characteristics relevant to preventing self-immolation were collected
from all cases and controls: main domestic fuel used in the household,
awareness about complications of burn injuries, and use of counseling services.
Results:
Descriptive
analyses revealed that kerosene was the main domestic fuel in the household for
83% of cases. Not surprisingly, the main means of self-immolation in 93% of the
patients was kerosene, with other fuels such as petrol and domestic gas used in
remaining cases. The majority of cases and controls were aware of the potential
complications of burn injuries. Use of counseling services was more common in
controls.
Conclusions:
All three aspects
of preventing self-immolation – having kerosene and other fuels in the home,
being aware of the complications of burn injuries, and using counseling
services were present in both the cases and controls. This suggests a large
portion of residents in rural Iran are potential self-immolation victims.
Increasing preventive strategies may reduce risk of suicide by self-immolation.
Table 1
Demographic data of case (n=30) and control (n=30) groups.
| Variable | Groups | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cases | Control | Total | |
| Gender; N (%) | |||
| Male | 4 (13) | 4 (13) | 8 (13) |
| Female | 26(87) | 26(87) | 52(87) |
| Marital state; N (%) | |||
| Single | 12 (40) | 10(33) | 22(37) |
| Married | 17(57) | 19(64) | 36(60) |
| Divorced | 1(3) | 1(3) | 2(3) |
| Mean of age;(year) | 27.5 | 28.5 | 28.0 |
| Mean of TBSA*; (%) | 60.2 | - | - |
* Total Body Surface Area
bDepartment of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA.
cDepartment of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA. USA.
dSemel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA , CA. USA.
eDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Division of Social Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
fDepartment of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Management, Imam Reza Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
