Violations of Suicide-Prevention Guidelines in US Media Coverage of Physician's Suicide Death During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Crisis
; 43(4): 340-343, 2022 Jul.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1213914
ABSTRACT
Background:
Healthcare workers are at elevated risk for suicide; though it has yet to be studied, this risk may be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. News media coverage of high-profile suicide is associated with an increased risk of subsequent suicides. No analysis has yet been published of US media practices for reporting on healthcare worker suicides during the pandemic.Aims:
The researchers aimed to evaluate pandemic-era media practices by investigating adherence to best-practice suicide reporting guidelines in coverage of Dr. Lorna Breen's death.Methods:
The researchers conducted a content analysis of all unique articles by top outlets reporting Dr. Breen's death between April 26 and 29, 2020, and scored them based on their adherence to the 15 best-practice suicide reporting guidelines.Results:
Every media outlet violated an average of at least 5 of 15 suicide guidelines in reporting on Dr. Breen's death; some abided by as few as 2 of 15 recommended guidelines. Seven of 15 guidelines were adhered to by fewer than one third of articles. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number, notably easy to include, appeared in only 75% of articles.Limitations:
The researchers were limited to reviewing media coverage of one specific instance of COVID-era healthcare worker suicide, making these findings applicable as a prominent case study rather than forming a generalizable claim about suicide reporting during the pandemic or about reporting on healthcare suicides.Conclusion:
These violations highlight a range of opportunities to improve suicide prevention in the media, which has a responsibility to ensure reporting does not exacerbate the risk of suicide. Improved adherence to these guidelines could reduce harm for healthcare workers during the pandemic.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Physicians
/
COVID-19
/
Suicide Prevention
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Crisis
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
0227-5910
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