David Côté1,2, Marissa Williams1,3, Rabia Zaheer1,4, Thomas Niederkrotenthaler5, Ayal Schaffer1,6, Mark Sinyor1,6. 1. Department of Psychiatry, 71545Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 2. University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 3. Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada. 4. University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. 5. Center for Public Health, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Unit Suicide Research & Mental Health Promotion, Vienna, Austria. 6. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Mental health awareness (MHA) campaigns have been shown to be successful in improving mental health literacy, decreasing stigma, and generating public discussion. However, there is a dearth of evidence regarding the effects of these campaigns on behavioral outcomes such as suicides. Therefore, the objective of this article is to characterize the association between the event and suicide in Canada's most populous province and the content of suicide-related tweets referencing a Canadian MHA campaign (Bell Let's Talk Day [BLTD]). METHODS: Suicide counts during the week of BTLD were compared to a control window (2011 to 2016) to test for associations between the BLTD event and suicide. Suicide tweets geolocated to Ontario, posted in 2016 with the BLTD hashtag were coded for specific putatively harmful and protective content. RESULTS: There was no associated change in suicide counts. Tweets (n = 3,763) mainly included content related to general comments about suicide death (68%) and suicide being a problem (42.8%) with little putatively helpful content such as stories of resilience (0.6%) and messages of hope (2.2%). CONCLUSIONS: In Ontario, this national mental health media campaign was associated with a high volume of suicide-related tweets but not necessarily including content expected to diminish suicide rates. Campaigns like BLTD should strongly consider greater attention to suicide-related messaging that promotes help-seeking and resilience. This may help to further decrease stigmatization, and potentially, reduce suicide rates.
OBJECTIVE: Mental health awareness (MHA) campaigns have been shown to be successful in improving mental health literacy, decreasing stigma, and generating public discussion. However, there is a dearth of evidence regarding the effects of these campaigns on behavioral outcomes such as suicides. Therefore, the objective of this article is to characterize the association between the event and suicide in Canada's most populous province and the content of suicide-related tweets referencing a Canadian MHA campaign (Bell Let's Talk Day [BLTD]). METHODS: Suicide counts during the week of BTLD were compared to a control window (2011 to 2016) to test for associations between the BLTD event and suicide. Suicide tweets geolocated to Ontario, posted in 2016 with the BLTD hashtag were coded for specific putatively harmful and protective content. RESULTS: There was no associated change in suicide counts. Tweets (n = 3,763) mainly included content related to general comments about suicide death (68%) and suicide being a problem (42.8%) with little putatively helpful content such as stories of resilience (0.6%) and messages of hope (2.2%). CONCLUSIONS: In Ontario, this national mental health media campaign was associated with a high volume of suicide-related tweets but not necessarily including content expected to diminish suicide rates. Campaigns like BLTD should strongly consider greater attention to suicide-related messaging that promotes help-seeking and resilience. This may help to further decrease stigmatization, and potentially, reduce suicide rates.
Authors: Mark E Larsen; Nicholas Cummins; Tjeerd W Boonstra; Bridianne O'Dea; Joe Tighe; Jennifer Nicholas; Fiona Shand; Julien Epps; Helen Christensen Journal: Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc Date: 2015
Authors: Mark Sinyor; Marissa Williams; Rabia Zaheer; Raisa Loureiro; Jane Pirkis; Marnin J Heisel; Ayal Schaffer; Donald A Redelmeier; Amy H Cheung; Thomas Niederkrotenthaler Journal: Aust N Z J Psychiatry Date: 2020-11-06 Impact factor: 5.744