Self-Burning: a Common and Tragic Way of Suicide in Fars Province, Iran

Self-burning is the most devastating burn injury. It is a common social and medical problem in Iran. In a longitudinal prospective study, from April 2003 to March 2006, all burn patients admitted to Ghotb-eddin burn Hospital were enrolled in this study. Suicide attempts by burning accounted for 283 (21.9%) of all burn patients admitted to the hospital. Most (68.2%) of self-burning patients were female. Self-burn patients had significantly large burned body surface area (64.8±29%). Suicidal burns occurred predominantly in the age group 15-24 years (44.6%). The mortality rate for suicidal burns was (60.4%).Fars is a province composed of many different tribes and cultural minorities whereby major decisions are made by forums of clergymen. It is important to involve those clergymen in burn prevention programs to achieve a meaningful reduction in Self-burning prevalence.