Abdollah Rahmani, Mahdeia Nabardi, Hassan Ahmadinia, Mohsen Rezaeian,
Volume 23, Issue 4 (7-2024)
Abstract
A Survey on the Frequency of Suicide News Published in Newspapers and National News Agencies in Iran during 2019-2021 and It’s Concordance with the Suicide News Publishing Guideline in the Media: A Descriptive Study
Abdollah Rahmani[1], Mahdieh Nabardi[2], Hassan Ahmadinia[3], Mohsen Rezaeian[4]
Received: 18/12/23 Sent for Revision: 09/03/24 Received Revised Manuscript: 29/05/24 Accepted: 01/06/24
Background and Objectives: Responsible reporting can prevent suicide. The purpose of this study was to determine the status of suicide news reports published in national newspapers and news agencies during 2019-2021and the Covid-19 disease.
Materials and Methods: The present descriptive study is a follow-up study, first conducted in 2018. The news published by 9 newspapers (Hamshahri, Jam-e-Jam, Iran, Etelaat, Keihan, Sharq, Etemad, Arman, and Shahrvand) and 6 national news agencies (ISNA, IRNA, Fars, Khabaronline, Mehr, and Tasnim) from March 2019 to March 2021, was extracted and the findings were reported as number (percentage), mean, and standard deviation. The data were analyzed using independent t-test and chi-square test.
Results: A total of 927 news (newspapers: 416, news agencies: 511) related to suicide were extracted. The compliance mean scores were obtained 9.46 and 9.28 out of 15 in the newspapers and news agencies, respectively. All in all, the number of reported news in newspapers and news agencies has dereased in 2019 compared to 2018, however it significantly increased in 2020. This trend can be observed in all newspapers exept Hamshahri and Etelaat and all news agencies exept Mehr and IRNA. There was an increase in the compliance mean score in 2019 and 2020 compared to 2018, however there was a decrease in 2020 compared to 2019.
Conclusion: The news published in newspapers and news agencies is done somewhat irresponsibly. These reports have been improved compared to 2018, but media personnel and editors of magazines and newspapers should receive necessary training in this field.
Key words: Suicide news, Newspapers, National news agencies, Suicide news printing guide
Funding: This study did not have any funds.
Conflict of interest: None declared.
Ethical considertaions: The Ethics Committee of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences approved the study (IR.RUMS.REC.1400.069).
Authors’ Contributions:
- Conceptualization: Mohsen Rezaeian
- Methodology: Mohsen Rezaeian, Hassan Ahmadinia
- Data collection: Abdollah Rahmani, Mahdieh Nabardi
- Formal analysis: Hassan Ahmadinia
- Supervision: Mohsen Rezaeian
- Project administration: Mohsen Rezaeian
- Writing - original draft: Abdollah Rahmani, Mahdieh Nabardi
- Writing - review & editing: Mohsen Rezaeian, Hassan Ahmadinia
Citation: Rahmani A, Nabardi M, Ahmadi-nia H, Rezaeian M. A Survey on the Frequency of Suicide News Published in Newspapers and National News Agencies in Iran During 2019-2021 and It’s Concordance with the Suicide News Publishing Guideline in the Media: A Descriptive Study. J RafsanjanUniv Med Sci 2024; 23 (4): 252-66. [Farsi]
- MSc in Epidemiology, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Health Network of Kamiyaran City, Kamiyaran, Iran
- MSc in Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
- Assistant Prof., Dept.of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Health School, Occupational Environment Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
-Prof., Dept. of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Health, Occupational Environment Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran, Postal Code: 7718175911, ORCID: 0000-0003-3070-0166
(Corresponding Author) Tel: (034) 31315123, E-mail: moeygmr2@yahoo.co.uk
