Quality of media reporting following a celebrity suicide in India

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikas Menon ◽  
Sujita Kumar Kar ◽  
Natarajan Varadharajan ◽  
Charanya Kaliamoorthy ◽  
Jigyansa Ipsita Pattnaik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Online News ◽  
Warning Signs ◽  
World Health ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
Local Language ◽  
Celebrity Suicide ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract Background Celebrity suicides have the potential to trigger suicide contagion, particularly when media reporting is detailed and imbalanced. We aimed to assess the quality of media reporting of suicide of a popular Indian entertainment celebrity against the World Health Organization (WHO) suicide reporting guidelines. Methods Relevant news articles that reported the actor’s suicide were retrieved from online news portals of regional and English language newspapers and television channels in the immediate week following the event. Deductive content analysis of these articles was done using a pre-designed data extraction form. Results A total of 573 news articles were analyzed. Several breaches of reporting were noted in relation to mentioning the word ‘celebrity’ in the title of report (14.7%), inclusion of the deceased’s photograph (88.5%), detailed descriptions of the method (50.4%) and location of suicide (70.6%); local language newspapers were more culpable than English newspapers. Helpful reporting characteristics such as mentioning warning signs (4.1%), including educational information (2.7%) and suicide support line details (14.0%) were rarely practiced. Conclusion Media reporting of celebrity suicide in India is imbalanced and poorly adherent to suicide reporting recommendations. Local language news reports display more frequent and serious violations in reporting as opposed to English news articles.

Changing trends in quality of media reporting of suicide in the community following a celebrity suicide in India

2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742110096
Author(s):  
Vikas Menon ◽  
Sujita Kumar Kar ◽  
Ramdas Ransing ◽  
Ginni Sharma ◽  
Jigyansa Ipsita Pattnaik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online News ◽  
Significant Rise ◽  
Warning Signs ◽  
World Health ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Celebrity Suicide

Objective: Little is known about changes in quality of media reporting of suicide in the community following a celebrity suicide. Our objective was to compare trends in quality of media reporting of suicide, before and after the suicide of an Indian entertainment celebrity, against the World Health Organization suicide reporting guidelines. Method: Online news portals of English and local language newspapers, as well as television channels, were searched to identify relevant suicide-related news articles. Comparison of reporting characteristics before and after the celebrity suicide was performed using chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test. Results: A total of 3867 eligible news reports were retrieved. There was a significant increase in harmful reporting characteristics, such as reporting the name, age and gender of the deceased ( p < 0.001 for all comparisons), mentioning the location ( p < 0.001) and reason for suicide ( p = 0.04) and including photos of the deceased ( p = 0.002) following the celebrity suicide. Helpful reporting practices were less affected; there was a significant rise in inclusion of expert opinion ( p = 0.04) and mention of suicide-related warning signs ( p = 0.02). Conclusion: Following a celebrity suicide, significant changes in the quality of media reporting of suicide were noted with an increase in several potentially harmful reporting characteristics.

Is there any link between celebrity suicide and further suicidal behaviour in India?

2020 ◽  
pp. 002076402096453
Author(s):  
Vikas Menon ◽  
Sujita Kumar Kar ◽  
Marthoenis Marthoenis ◽  
SM Yasir Arafat ◽  
Ginni Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Suicidal Behaviour ◽  
English Language ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Young Female ◽  
Online News ◽  
Local Language ◽  
Data Extraction Form ◽  
Celebrity Suicide ◽  
Suicide Note

Background: Little is known about the factors that determine vulnerability to subsequent suicide in the community following a celebrity suicide. Our objective was to investigate the link between an alleged celebrity suicide and further suicidal behaviour in the community in India. Methods: Relevant news articles that reported suicidal behaviour in the population were retrieved from online news portals of regional and English language newspapers in the immediate month following the actor’s death. A deductive analysis of the retrieved suicide news articles was carried out using a pre-designed data extraction form. Results: A total of 1160 relevant news articles were identified from the local language ( n = 985) and English ( n = 175) newspapers. For a sizeable percentage of these reports ( n = 65, 5.6%), the media reported links with celebrity suicide. Odds of subsequent suicide among young (Odds Ratios [OR] – 9.24), female (OR – 1.94), unemployed (OR – 7.26), those without precipitating life events (OR – 2.94) or mental illness (OR – 1.69) were higher among those with link to celebrity suicide; likewise, odds of death by hanging (OR – 49.84) and leaving a suicide note (OR – 2.03) were higher among those linked to celebrity suicide. English newspapers (OR – 4.23) were more likely to report events linked to celebrity suicide than local language newspapers Conclusion: Persons who died by suicide by hanging after a celebrity suicide are more likely to be young, female, unemployed, have a mental disorder or precipitating life events. Suicide prevention efforts must focus on this group and prevent the same method of suicide like that of the celebrity.

scholarly journals Mobile health interventions in developing countries: A systematic review

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 2792-2810
Author(s):  
Md Rakibul Hoque ◽  
Mohammed Sajedur Rahman ◽  
Nymatul Jannat Nipa ◽  
Md Rashadul Hasan
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Design Science ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Health Intervention ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
World Health ◽  
Mobile Health Applications ◽  
Health Organization

This study reviews the quality of evidence reported in mobile health intervention literature in the context of developing countries. A systematic search of renowned databases was conducted to find studies related to mobile health applications published between a period of 2013 and 2018. After a methodological screening, a total of 31 studies were included for data extraction and synthesis. The mobile health Evidence Reporting and Assessment checklist developed by the World Health Organization was then used to evaluate the rigor and completeness in evidence reporting. We report several important and interesting findings. First, there is a very low level of familiarity with the mobile health Evidence Reporting and Assessment checklist among the researchers and mobile health intervention designers from developing countries. Second, most studies do not adequately meet the essential criteria of evidence reporting mentioned in the mobile health Evidence Reporting and Assessment checklist. Third, there is a dearth of application of design science–based methods and theory-based frameworks in developing mobile health interventions. Fourth, most of the mobile health interventions are not ready for interoperability and to be integrated into the existing health information systems. Based on these findings, we recommend for robust and inclusive study plans to deliver highly evidence-based reports by mobile health intervention studies that are conducted in the context of developing countries.

Media Reporting of the Emergence of the 1968 Influenza Pandemic in Hong Kong: Implications for Modern-day Situational Awareness

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. S148-S153 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Wilson ◽  
Marissa Iannarone ◽  
Chunhui Wang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
News Media ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
English Language ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
World Health ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
Health Organization

ABSTRACTObjective: We investigated local media reporting during the emergence of influenza A/Hong Kong/68 in Hong Kong to understand how indolent social awareness contributed to delays in warning of the pandemic.Methods: Daily output from 1 English-language and 4 local Chinese-language newspapers published in Hong Kong between July 1 and August 31, 1968 were manually reviewed for all references to the presence of respiratory disease or influenza in southern China and Hong Kong. Public announcements from the World Health Organization Weekly Epidemiological Record were used to approximate international awareness.Results: Influenza A/Hong Kong/68 appeared abruptly in Hong Kong and within 1 week began to affect the functioning of the health care sector as well as civil infrastructure due to worker infection and absenteeism. Substantial delays in communication between Guangzhou, China, and Hong Kong officials contributed to delays in warning globally.Conclusions: The 1968 experience emphasizes the need to use the news media in the operational setting as a critical component in warning of a pandemic. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2009;3(Suppl 2):S148–S153)

scholarly journals ‘All that Followed a Death. . .’: An Alleged Celebrity Suicide, Media Discourse and Mental Health

2020 ◽  
pp. 002076402098557
Author(s):  
Debanjan Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Health ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
World Health ◽  
Media Discourse ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Celebrity Suicide ◽  
Attitudes Toward Suicide ◽  
Health Organization

Mortality and morbidity due to suicides have been an ever-growing burden in India. The public response to the understanding of suicidal deaths and popular perceptions are heavily dependent on media discourse and reporting of such cases. Recently, the alleged death of a young Indian celebrity due to suicide in India led to a media debacle that quickly spurred into endless speculations and sensational reporting of the associated details. Incidents of high-profile suicide often cause varied perceptions, attitudes and beliefs related to the ‘act’ that can get further compounded by misinformation and media-portrayal of the same. Recent cross-sectional research by Raj et al. (2020) explores the adherence of Indian media reporting of suicides for a month after the celebrity-death. It reveals that more than 80% of the news articles deviate from the prevalent Press Council of India (PCI) and the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for media-reporting of suicides. With this study in the background, the commentary contextualizes its findings in the Indian socio-cultural scenario, reviews the influence of media on public attitudes toward suicide, and highlights the need for active media-public health collaboration as a part of a national suicide prevention strategy. Suicides need to be viewed beyond just the ‘medical or psychological health’ model through a more holistic biopsychosocial framework.

scholarly journals Frequency of four-dimensional oral health problems across dental fields – A comparative survey of Slovenian and international dentists

2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 210-220
Author(s):  
Stella Sekulić ◽  
Mike T. John ◽  
Katrin Bekes ◽  
Mohammad H. Al-Harthy ◽  
Ambra Michelotti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
English Language ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
World Health ◽  
Electronic Survey ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract Objectives To compare the frequency of patients’ oral health problems and prevention needs among Slovenian and international dentists with the aim to validate the four oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) dimensions across six clinical dental fields in all World Health Organization (WHO) regions. Methods An anonymous electronic survey in the English language was designed using Qualtrics software. A probability sampling for Slovenia and a convenience sampling strategy for dentist recruitment was applied for 31 countries. Dentists engaged in six dental fields were asked to categorize their patients’ oral health problems and prevention needs into the four OHRQoL dimensions (Oral Function, Orofacial Pain, Orofacial Appearance, and Psychosocial Impact). Proportions of patients’ problems and prevention needs were calculated together with the significance of Slovenian and international dentists’ differences based on dental fields and WHO regions. Results Dentists (n=1,580) from 32 countries completed the survey. There were 223 Slovenian dentists (females: 68%) with a mean age (SD) of 41 (10.6) years and 1,358 international dentists (females: 51%) with a mean age (SD) of 38 (10.4). Pain-related problems and prevention needs were the most prevalent among all six dental fields reported by dentists; Slovenian (37%) and 31 countries (45%). According to Cohen, differences between Slovenia, the broader European Region, and 31 countries were considered non-significant (<0.1). Conclusion According to the dentists’ responses, the frequency of patients’ oral health problems and prevention needs are proportionate between Slovenia and 31 countries, regionally and globally. The four OHRQoL dimensions can be considered universal across all dental fields.

Quality of media reporting of suicide in Iraq

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110039
Author(s):  
S M Yasir Arafat ◽  
Araz Ramazan Ahmad ◽  
Ayoob Kareem Saeed ◽  
Vikas Menon ◽  
Sheikh Shoib ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
English Language ◽  
World Health ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Arabic And English ◽  
Health Organization

Background: Mass media has an important role in influencing the suicidal behavior of the general population. However, the quality of news reporting of suicide has not been assessed in Iraq. Aim: We aimed to assess the quality of news reports in Iraq while reporting the suicidal behaviors. Methods: The search was done on Google in November and December 2020 with the search term ‘suicide news in Iraq’ and accessible news reports distributed in Kurdish, Arabic, and English languages were taken out. We scrutinized the news reports to identify the reporting characteristics and compared them with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Results: A total of 130 news reports were analyzed; among them 23.8% were Kurdish, 63.8% were Arabic, and 12.3% were in the English language. About 31.5% of the reports mentioned the name and 40.8% mentioned the occupation. The name of method was mentioned in 88.5%, mono-causality was found in about 34.6%, the term ‘suicide’ was mentioned in the headline in 94.6%, and method of suicide was mentioned in the headline of about 27.7% of the reports. Only 5.4% of the reports traced mental illness, 6.9% mentioned expert opinion, and none of the reports mentioned prevention program, and educative information. Conclusion: The study revealed that news reports of suicidal behavior in Iraq are poorly adherent to the WHO reporting guidelines. Further studies are warranted to identify the responsible factors and culture-specific prevention strategies.

scholarly journals Assessing the Quality of Media Reporting of Suicide Deaths in Bangladesh Against World Health Organization Guidelines

Crisis ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Yasir Arafat ◽  
Murad M. Khan ◽  
Thomas Niederkrotenthaler ◽  
Michiko Ueda ◽  
Gregory Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Support Service ◽  
World Health ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Daily Newspapers ◽  
Newspaper Reporting ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract. Background: Media reporting of suicide events has thus far gone without sufficient scrutiny in Bangladesh. Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of newspaper reporting of suicides in Bangladesh against international guidelines. Methods: We used content analysis to assess the quality of suicide reporting in six daily newspapers in Bangladesh. The newspapers were hand-searched between November 2016 and April 2017 and 327 articles reporting on suicide deaths were retrieved. Results: The mean number of suicide articles per day per newspaper was 0.3 (range across newspapers 0.11–0.70) and the mean length was 11.3 sentences. Harmful reporting practices were very common (for example, a detailed suicide method was reported in 75.5% of articles) while almost no potentially helpful reporting practices were observed (for example, no articles gave contact details for a suicide support service). Limitations: The findings are limited to print mass media. Conclusions: We observed that explicit and simplistic reports of suicide deaths were frequently observed in newspapers in Bangladesh. Attempts should be made to understand the perspectives of media professionals in relation to suicide reporting, and to devise strategies to boost the positive contribution that media can make to suicide prevention in this context.

News reporting of suicidal behaviour in Nigeria: Adherence assessment to World Health Organization guidelines

2020 ◽  
pp. 002076402096335
Author(s):  
Tosin Philip Oyetunji ◽  
SM Yasir Arafat ◽  
Famori Stephen Oluwaseyi ◽  
Obafemi Oluwasanmi ◽  
Michael Afolami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
World Health Organization ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Warning Signs ◽  
Reporting Guidelines ◽  
World Health ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
Causal Explanations ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
Adherence Assessment ◽  
Health Organization

Background: Sensible media reporting has been considered an important suicide prevention strategy which is an under-researched issue in Nigeria. There is a dearth of research assessing how the media has been reporting suicidal news to the general population in Nigeria. Aim: It was aimed to see the adherence of news reports to the World Health Organization (WHO) suicide reporting guidelines while reporting the events. Methods: We searched the published contents of 10 English newspapers of Nigeria and assessed the adherence to the WHO media guidelines for reporting suicide from January 2010 to December 2019. Results: Most of the reports (85.31%) mentioned completed suicides, 4.4% recorded suicides, and 9.5% recorded suicide-related homicides. The majority of the reports mentioned the name (85.6%) and profession (63.8%) of the person; the name of the method (92%) and life events (67.8%). The word ‘suicide’ was mentioned in the headline of 87.6% of the reports; the method was mentioned in the headline of 22.8% of the reports, and 31.7% of the reports referred to life events in the headline. Only 8.8% of reports had traced mental illness, 33.3% traced the warning signs, 2.8% mentioned evidence of substance abuse and very few reports mentioned educative materials. Conclusion: The study found that Nigeria’s online newspapers are poorly adherent to the WHO media reporting guidelines. Explicit descriptions of the person, methods, life events, and mono-causal explanations were frequently published. Negligible initiatives have been found to educate the general people in the reports.

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