Celebrity Suicide-A Cause for Media Celebration? Analysis of Three Newspaper Reports

Psychiatrists' Perceptions of the Role of Journalists in Suicide Reporting and Prejudices about Mental Illnesses in Portugal

International studies and the World Health Organization call for collaboration between media and mental health professionals to reduce the risk of imitative suicidal behaviour after suicide reporting - known as the Werther effect - and encourage individuals at risk to seek help. This study explores Portuguese psychiatrists' perceptions of the practices of journalists, their interaction with those professionals, and their perspectives on the national suicide coverage through an anonymous online questionnaire and ten semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire received 128 responses. Only about 24% of the Portuguese psychiatrists characterized their relationship with journalists as cooperative, and most of them considered suicide reporting to be sensationalist and irresponsible. More than 80% of the participants expressed the view that journalists do not know the guidelines for responsible suicide reporting, but more than 95% considered that they can contribute to suicide prevention. These findings suggest that there is a long way to go to build a constructive partnership for suicide prevention between psychiatrists and journalists in Portugal, focused on improving the quality of suicide reporting. We hope this study may inspire similar studies in other countries, since suicide is an international public health problem and collaboration between media and mental health professionals can help to prevent it on a global scale.

Celebrity drug use reporting in Indian media and its impact on drug-related online search behavior: An infodemiology study

AIM

We aimed to examine and interpret the changes in internet search volumes for keywords representing different drug use-related themes before and after the drug use started being discussed in the Indian news media during recent celebrity drug trials.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data were extracted using Google Trends framework in health-related research. Search keywords were prepared under four broad themes: General interest in cannabis use, drug use being a criminal/unlawful act, help seeking for cannabis use, and help-seeking for drug-related problems. The mean relative search volume was analyzed and compared pre- and post-media discussion about celebrity drug use using SPSS V23.0.

RESULTS

A significant increase was noted in online search interest for keywords related to themes of general interest in cannabis use and drug use being a criminal/unlawful act once the media discussion on the celebrity drug use started. However, no corresponding increase was noted in online search interest for themes of help seeking for drug-related problems in general and cannabis use in particular.

CONCLUSION

Media discussions on celebrity drug use may impact the online search behavior of the general public adversely. There is an need to develop and adhere to drug use reporting guidelines by media professionals.