Abstract

Suicidal behavior constitutes a complex problem, with multiple causes, with mental illness being one of the most important factors that predisposes to suicidal behavior (1,2). Suicides are preventable. According to the WHO, a person somewhere in the world commits suicide every 40 seconds. The group with the highest risk are young people between 15-29 years old, this being the second cause of death in this age group (3,4). Chile has one of the highest suicide rates in Latin America (5). This shows that mental health problems affect 2 out of every 10 people in Chile. According to figures from the Ministry of Health, more than 100,000 admit that they tried to take their own life. Furthermore, 20.3% of people who commit suicide in Chile are young people between 20-29 years old, so it is necessary to focus on this population (6). It is in this age group where the population of nursing students is concentrated, so the problem may be relevant. Numerous articles report that nursing education increases levels of stress and burnout (7–9). Health sciences have been reported as one of the branches where students show higher levels of stress, thus, the nursing profession is considered stressful because those who study and practice it are susceptible to high levels of stress (10) and , consequently, suicidal ideation (2,11).