Yasar Tirasci

Suicide in children and adolescents at a province in Turkey.

Despite the well-documented increases in the rate of completed suicide among children, accurate knowledge of the characteristics of these suicides is limited. We examined all suicides by children and adolescents in Diyarbakir during 1999 and 2001. All of the cases were analyzed regarding the age, sex, method and location of suicide, time of year, and predictive factors. There were 56 children aged 11 through 19 years. Adolescents between 15 and 19 years of age constituted the overwhelming number (87%) of all the childhood suicides. Female children and adolescents predominated among the suicide victims (71%). The most frequent means of suicide were firearms (43%), hanging (28%), and jumping (16%), respectively. The majority of suicides occurred at the decedent’s home (88%). Reasons identified were mainly psychiatric disorders, followed by troubles within the family. A prior suicide attempt or a note that was left by the decedent and elucidated the reason for the suicide was rare. There was no seasonal difference in rates of suicides.

Female Suicides in Diyarbakir, Turkey

The aim of this study was to investigate the methods used and demographic data of women suicides by examining postmortem investigation and autopsy reports from the Branch of the Council of Forensic Medicine in Diyarbakir Province, Turkey, between 1996 and 2001. Fifty-eight percent (174/302) of suicides were females and 42% (128/302) were males. The suicide rates were similarly higher for females than for males (2.6 and 1.8 per 10,000 population, respectively). Over half of female suicides (56.3%) occurred in those under 20 years of age. The most common suicide method for women was hanging (32.2%), and for men was firearms (51.7%), but for women younger than 20 years the most frequent method was firearms. Among the female suicides, five (2.8%) were known to have attempted suicide at least once in the past. Twenty-nine women (16.7%) were documented to have any psychiatric illness. None of the women had a history of drug or alcohol abuse. A suicide note was found in only six cases (3.4%). The predominant suicide motive was family problems (in 32% or 56/174). The higher rate of suicide in females than in males, and the absolute female predominance in suicides in Diyarbakir, Turkey, are in contrast to most of the medical literature and statistical information about suicide rates by country, in which suicide rates are usually higher among males.

Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarının Yönetim, Dış Koruma, Hükümlü ve Tutukluların Sevk ve Nakilleri ile Sağlık Hizmetlerinin Yürütülmesi Hakkındaki Protokolün Bir Olgu Sunumu Üzerinden Adli Tıbbi Değerlendirilmesi

Hekimlik mesleginin; hastalar arasinda sosyal durum, dini inanc, siyasi gorus, milliyet, cinsiyet, yas ve sosyoekonomik durum farkliliklari gozetmeksizin icra edilmesi gerekmektedir. Ancak tutuklu/hukumlu muayenelerinde Ceza Infaz Kurumlarinin Yonetim, Dis Koruma, Hukumlu ve Tutuklularin Sevk ve Nakilleri ile Saglik Hizmetlerinin Yurutulmesi Hakkindaki Protokolun (3’lu Protokol) yorumlanmasi ve uygulanmasina bagli olarak cesitli sorunlarla karsilasilmaktadir. Bu calismamizda kolluk kuvvetleri esliginde cezaevinden Dicle Universitesi Tip Fakultesi Adli Tip AD’na muayeneye getirilen bir sahsin muayenesi esnasinda kolluk kuvvetleri ile hekimler arasinda 3’lu protokol nedeniyle yasanan bir olay ele alinmis olup cozum onerilerinde bulunulmustur.