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Online media reporting of suicidal behaviour in Ghana: Analysis of adherence to the WHO guidelines

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  • Emmanuel Nii-Boye Quarshie
  • Johnny Andoh-Arthur
  • Kwaku Oppong Asante
  • Winifred Asare-Doku

Abstract

Background: Irresponsible media reporting of suicide is a potential risk for copycat suicide. There is a paucity of studies from sub-Saharan Africa on the quality of media reporting of suicide. Objectives: We assessed the compliance of Ghanaian online media outlets with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for media reporting of suicide. Methods: We searched 10 local media outlets with strong online presence in Ghana, to identify suicide-related news reports from 2000 through 2019. We applied summative content analysis and chi-square ( χ 2 ) test to the data. Results: We included 288 news reports, of which 261 (90.6%) were completed suicides, 7 (2.4%) were attempted suicides and 20 (6.9%) were homicide suicides. Most of the news reports failed to comply with the WHO guidelines: 92.7% mentioned the specific method of the suicide act, 82.6% included ‘suicide’ in the headline and 55.6% included photos of the victims. The χ 2 tests indicated that privately owned media outlets were more likely than publicly owned to post a photo of the victim, χ 2 ( 1 )  = 17.37, p  

Suggested Citation

  • Emmanuel Nii-Boye Quarshie & Johnny Andoh-Arthur & Kwaku Oppong Asante & Winifred Asare-Doku, 2021. "Online media reporting of suicidal behaviour in Ghana: Analysis of adherence to the WHO guidelines," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 67(3), pages 251-259, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:67:y:2021:i:3:p:251-259
    DOI: 10.1177/0020764020919787
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nazriatun Nisa & Muhammad Arifin & Muhammad Fauzan Nur & Shylvana Adella & Marthoenis Marthoenis, 2020. "Indonesian online newspaper reporting of suicidal behavior: Compliance with World Health Organization media guidelines," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(3), pages 259-262, May.
    2. Niederkrotenthaler, Thomas & Till, Benedikt & Kapusta, Nestor D. & Voracek, Martin & Dervic, Kanita & Sonneck, Gernot, 2009. "Copycat effects after media reports on suicide: A population-based ecologic study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 1085-1090, October.
    3. Qijin Cheng & Feng Chen & Paul S F Yip, 2017. "Media effects on suicide methods: A case study on Hong Kong 1998-2005," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(4), pages 1-12, April.
    4. Pirkis, Jane E. & Burgess, Philip M. & Francis, Catherine & Blood, R. Warwick & Jolley, Damien J., 2006. "The relationship between media reporting of suicide and actual suicide in Australia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(11), pages 2874-2886, June.
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