Working in a prison, where suicide attempts are frequently encountered, is a stressful job both for correctional officers and for health care staff. Burnout is a relevant problem that can affect the staff’s quality of life but also the relationship with inmates. In particular, the level of wellbeing of the members of the staff is related with the ability to recognize and intervene in situations of risk of suicide behaviours.

The aim of the present study is to explore the level of burnout and its correlation with attitude towards suicide behaviour in a sample of medical professionals employed in prisons on north east of Italy.

82 medical professionals (52 female and 30 male) filled out the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Suicide Behaviour Attitude Questionnaire.

On the whole, the Maslach revealed a low level of emotional exhaustion, low level of depersonalization and an average personal accomplishment. Among others, some items of the SBAQ showed that staff felt available to get involved with suicide attempters, but did not feel able and self confident to manage these situations.

Further research should be done to explore if training to improve how to manage the burnout in the staff could be an indirect strategy to oversee suicide attitudes.