The Impact of Colleague Suicide and the Current State of Postvention Guidance for Affected Co-Workers: A Critical Integrative Review

Hilary Causer (), Johanna Spiers, Nikolaos Efstathiou, Stephanie Aston, Carolyn A. Chew-Graham, Anya Gopfert, Kathryn Grayling, Jill Maben, Maria van Hove and Ruth Riley
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Hilary Causer: School of Health Sciences, University of Surrey, Kate Granger Building, 30 Priestly Road, Surrey Research Park, Guildford GU2 7YH, UK
Johanna Spiers: School of Health Sciences, University of Surrey, Kate Granger Building, 30 Priestly Road, Surrey Research Park, Guildford GU2 7YH, UK
Nikolaos Efstathiou: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Institute of Clinical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Stephanie Aston: Samaritans, The Upper Mill, Kingston Road, Ewell, Surrey KT17 2AF, UK
Carolyn A. Chew-Graham: School of Medicine, Keele University, Newcastle ST5 5BG, UK
Anya Gopfert: Department of Health and Community Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter EX4 4PY, UK
Kathryn Grayling: NHS Employers’, 2 Brewery Wharf, Leeds LS10 1JR, UK
Jill Maben: School of Health Sciences, University of Surrey, Kate Granger Building, 30 Priestly Road, Surrey Research Park, Guildford GU2 7YH, UK
Maria van Hove: University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter EX4 4PY, UK
Ruth Riley: School of Health Sciences, University of Surrey, Kate Granger Building, 30 Priestly Road, Surrey Research Park, Guildford GU2 7YH, UK

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-24

Abstract: People bereaved by suicide are affected psychologically and physically and may be at greater risk of taking their own lives. Whilst researchers have explored the impact of suicide on family members and friends, the area of colleague suicide has been neglected and postvention guidance for supporting surviving colleagues is often poorly developed. This critical integrative review explored the impact of colleague suicide on surviving co-workers and reviewed postvention guidance for workplaces. Systematic searches found 17 articles that met the inclusion criteria. Articles were appraised for quality and extracted data were analysed using a thematic network method. Article quality was moderate. Two global themes were developed: impact of a colleague suicide comprised themes of ‘suicide loss in the workplace’; ‘professional identities and workplace roles’; ‘perceptions of professional uniqueness’; and ‘professional abandonment and silencing’. Postvention following a colleague suicide comprised ‘individualised responses’; ‘the dual function of stigma’; and ‘complex pressure on managers’. A unifying global network ‘after a colleague suicide’ describes the relationships between all themes. A series of disconnects between existing postvention guidance and the needs of impacted workers are discussed. This review demonstrates the need for robust, systemic postvention for colleagues impacted by the complex issue of colleague suicide.

Keywords: suicide; postvention; impact; loss; grief; bereavement; colleague; co-worker; guidance; review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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