Suicide news on Peruvian television channels: evaluation of compliance with WHO's reporting recommendations

Abstract

Objective.: To determine if suicide news reports broadcasted by Peruvian television channels comply with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for reporting suicide news.

Materials and methods.: Quantitative and descriptive study. The unit of analysis was the suicide news broadcasted by eight Peruvian television channels during the years 2020 and 2021. News were classified into three categories: news about suicide, attempted suicide and suicide prevention. We used an evaluation instrument composed of WHO recommendations.

Results.: A total of 126 news reports were analyzed; but none of these complied fully with the WHO recommendations. The news reports on suicide or attempted suicide complied with 4 of 13 recommendations. Most reports complied with avoiding to publish suicide notes (97.4%); on the other hand, educating about suicide and its prevention, and not disseminating myths was the recommendation least complied with (0.9%). Suicide prevention news reports complied with 5 of 7 recommendations.

Conclusions.: Suicide news reports on Peruvian television in 2020 and 2021 showed low compliance with WHO recommendations. Communication professionals have a fundamental role in suicide prevention, limiting sensitive information and disseminating helpful information. It is essential for communicators to be aware of these recommendations and for the journalism team and mental health professionals to work together in the communication of news related to suicide.

Figure 1. Flowchart for the selection of the news reports that made up the study.

Figura 2. Flujograma de selección de las noticias que conformaron el estudio.