Abstract
Because it has been associated with significant increases [through the Werther Effect (WE)] or decreases [through the Papageno Effect (PE)] of suicide rates, media coverage of suicide-related events is recognized as a prevention leverage. Unfortunately, the recommendations that the World Health Organization (WHO) has published to help journalists reporting on suicide remain poorly applied. The Mini Media Training (MMT) is a short media training session designed to increase psychiatrists’ ability to communicate about suicide during interviews. We aimed at assessing the effect of the MMT on psychiatrists’ ability to help journalists complying with the WHO recommendations. From June 2017 to December 2019, 173 physicians and residents in psychiatry were recruited during French national congresses. At baseline (T0) and 1 and 3 months later (T1), participants received the MMT, which consisted in a simulated interview where they we asked to answer a journalist about a mock suicide. Communication skills were measured with a score summing the number of delivered pieces of advice in relation to the WHO recommendations, with a maximum score of 33. A weighted score was also derived based on the degree of directivity needed for the participant to provide these items, again with a possible maximum of 33. A total of 132 psychiatrists participated in the study at T0 and T1. Both the weighted and unweighted score significantly increased from T0 to T1 (d = +2.08, p < 0.001, and d = +1.24, p < 0.001, respectively). Having a history of contacts with journalists, a short professional experience (<3 years) and prior knowledge of the WE, PE, and WHO recommendations were significantly associated with greater unweighted and weighted scores at baseline. The latter two variables also predicted greater T0–T1 improvement of the weighted score. These results suggest that the MMT could be effective for improving the ability of psychiatrists to guide journalists toward more responsible media coverage of suicide. As a short, easy to implement educational activity, the MMT could therefore be considered in association with other measures to help media professionals mitigating the WE and promoting the PE.
Highlights
Despite sustained prevention efforts, suicide still accounts for 1.4% of premature deaths worldwide (Bachmann, 2018)
Compared to psychiatrists with short professional experience (28 years) had a significantly lower WHOr score at T0
In the model explaining the weighted WHOr score, having an experience of media interview was associated with a score was associated with a higher score
Summary
Suicide still accounts for 1.4% of premature deaths worldwide (Bachmann, 2018). In France, suicide has caused about 9,280 evitable deaths in 2016 (Observatoire National du Suicide, 2019). In response to this alarming observation, the World Health Organization (WHO) has set, in its Global Mental Health Action Plan, the objective of a 10% decrease of suicides over the period 2013–2020 (WHO, 2019). Among prevention actions recommended as efficient, the WHO promotes the empowerment of media professionals in reporting on suicide-related events. More limited but growing evidence exist that specific media productions, such as testimonies of individuals who successfully coped with a suicidal crisis, could reduce suicidal ideations, increase life satisfaction, provide knowledge about suicide-related matters and promote help-seeking behaviors in readers or viewers (Niederkrotenthaler et al, 2019). More limited but growing evidence exist that specific media productions, such as testimonies of individuals who successfully coped with a suicidal crisis, could reduce suicidal ideations, increase life satisfaction, provide knowledge about suicide-related matters and promote help-seeking behaviors in readers or viewers (Niederkrotenthaler et al, 2019). Niederkrotenthaler et al (2010) coined Papageno Effect (PE) the possible protective effects of such portray in reference to the resilient character of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute
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