Although suicidal attempt is common among medical students, little is known about the prevalence estimates and the potential determining factors in low and middle-income countries including Ethiopia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to estimate the prevalence and associated factors of suicidal attempts among medical students in Ethiopia. Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 medical students selected by using a stratified random sampling technique. The World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was used to assess suicidal attempts among the study participants. Binary and multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the potential determinants of suicidal attempt. Odds ratios (OR) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were calculated to assess the strength of association. In this study, the prevalence of suicidal attempt among medical students was found to be 8.2% (95% CI 5.7, 11.4%). In the adjusted model, the variables associated with suicidal attempt were female sex, history of chronic medical illness, excessive course load, psychological distress, poor social support, and daily internet use for more than 3 h. In the present study, the prevalence of suicide attempts was relatively high (8.2%). Early screening is necessary to identify suicidal attempt and the potential determining factors to prevent death as well as adverse educational outcomes during the medical education program.
Keywords: Factor, Ethiopia; Medical students; Prevalence; Suicidal attempt.