Increases in Demand for Crisis and Other Suicide Prevention Services After a Celebrity Suicide

Ramchand, Rajeev; Cohen, Elan; Draper, John; Schoenbaum, Michael; Reidenberg, Daniel J.; Colpe, Lisa J.; Reed, Jerry; Pearson, Jane L.

doi:10.1176/appi.ps.201900007

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Indeed, those who are at heightened risk of suicide may reach a “tipping point” if their calls are unanswered. Ramchand et al (2019) commented on this when they reported their findings on increases in calls to major helplines in the United States, noting that the number of calls rose by up to 300% but that the average number of calls that could be answered decreased from 71% to 57%. In our study, we reported on the number of calls received for consistency because we had these data for both Lifeline and Beyond Blue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When the famous actor and comedian took his life by hanging on August 11, 2014, the US reporting was extensive and of variable quality, with a significant amount of coverage sensationalizing his suicide and describing the method he used in detail (Carmichael & Whitley, 2019). Fink, Santaella‐Tenorio, and Keyes (2018) showed that there were 10% more suicides in the United States in the subsequent five months that would have been expected on the basis of preexisting trends, and Ramchand et al (2019) reported similar findings over one month. This evidence suggests that the reporting of Williams’ death contributed to these excess suicides (Fink et al, 2018; Ramchand et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Fink, Santaella‐Tenorio, and Keyes (2018) showed that there were 10% more suicides in the United States in the subsequent five months that would have been expected on the basis of preexisting trends, and Ramchand et al (2019) reported similar findings over one month. This evidence suggests that the reporting of Williams’ death contributed to these excess suicides (Fink et al, 2018; Ramchand et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Suicide is not the only endpoint that has been considered in studies looking at the impact of the media reporting of Robin Williams’ suicide. Ramchand et al (2019) also considered a second set of outcomes related to help‐seeking. They observed increases in calls to two major US helplines (the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Veterans Crisis Line) and visits to two prominent US suicide prevention websites (the Suicide Prevention Resource Centre [SPRC] and Suicide Awareness Voices of Education [SAVE]) in the month after Williams’ suicide.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Calls to helplines in Australia following media reports of Robin Williams’ suicide

Pirkis

Currier

Too

et al. 2020

Suicide & Life Threat Behav

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective In the United States, there was an increase in calls to helplines following media reporting of Robin Williams’ suicide. We aimed to determine whether this was the case in Australia. Method The helpline services Lifeline and Beyond Blue provided us with weekly data on calls received for 2013–2015. We conducted interrupted time series regression analyses to determine whether there was an increase in the average weekly number of calls received by each helpline in two periods after the story about Williams’ suicide broke (1 week and 4 weeks). Results We found strong evidence of an increase in calls to Lifeline (incidence rate ratio [IRR] =1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.02–1.25; p = 0.016) and Beyond Blue (IRR = 1.32; 95% CI = 1.09–1.59; p = 0.004) in the week after Williams’ suicide was first reported. We found no evidence of higher than normal call volumes for Lifeline (IRR = 1.04; 95% CI = 0.99–1.10; p = 0.104) or Beyond Blue (IRR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.00–1.22; p = 0.058) over the four weeks following Williams’ death, however, suggesting that calls leveled out over this period. Conclusion Suicide prevention experts and media professionals must work together to minimize the negative impacts of reports on suicide and maximize their positive ones. In cases where the story is likely to receive extensive international coverage, it may be important for local media to encourage help‐seeking.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Calls to helplines in Australia following media reports of Robin Williams’ suicide

Pirkis

Currier

Too

et al. 2020

Suicide & Life Threat Behav

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This less than optimal reporting was implicated in a 10% increase in US suicides in the 5 months after Williams' death observed by Fink et al (2018). Ramchand et al (2019) also suggested that the nature and quality of reporting may have influenced an equivalent increase that they observed in the United States over a shorter time frame (1 month).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Suicides in Australia following media reports of the death of Robin Williams

Pirkis

Currier

Too

et al. 2019

Aust N Z J Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: This study assessed the extent to which local reporting of Robin Williams’ suicide (on 11 August 2014) was associated with suicide in Australia. It followed several studies in the United States which showed that there were significant increases in suicide following media reports of Williams’ death and that those media reports were less than optimal in terms of adherence to best-practice guidelines. In a previous study, we demonstrated that Australian media reports of Williams’ suicide were largely adherent with our Mindframe guidelines on responsible reporting of suicide, so we speculated that there would be no increase in suicide following the reporting of Williams’ suicide in Australia. Method: We extracted data on Australian suicides from the National Coroners Information System for the period 2001 to 2016. We conducted interrupted time series regression analyses to determine whether there were changes in suicides in the 5-month period immediately following Williams’ suicide. Results: Our hypothesis that there would be no increase in suicides in Australia following Williams’ highly publicised suicide was not supported. There was an 11% increase in suicides in the 5-month period following Williams’ death, largely accounted for by men aged 30–64 and by people who died by hanging (the method Williams used). Conclusion: It may be that Australians were exposed to reports that contravened safe reporting recommendations, particularly via overseas media or social media, and/or that some Australian reports may have had unhelpful overarching narratives, despite largely adhering to the Mindframe guidelines. The Mindframe guidelines constitute international best practice but consideration should be given to whether certain recommendations within them should be further reinforced and whether more nuanced information about how stories should be framed could be provided. Future revision and augmentation of the Mindframe guidelines should, as always, involve media professionals.

show abstract