Module IV

TRAINING FORPUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATION

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TRAINING FOR PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATION

Understanding the media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Appreciating the influence of mass media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Why use mass media? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Health campaigning: planning, implementing and evaluating a health campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Content development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11The launch press conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Sharing experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12A model questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Reporting suicide: awareness training for journalists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15[in conjunction with Appendix 4: Reporting suicide]

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2 Module IV

A. Understanding the media

Appreciating the influence of mass mediaWhat is the impact of mass communications on people’s personal lives?

What are the differences and the links between our personal and publiclives?

What are the changing contexts of messages? How can context changethem?

What are the value systems implicit in language and imagery?

What are our first impressions?

Why have these advertisements/images had the impact they had?

What messages might this have for successful health communication?

AdvertisementsWrite down and give the reasons for your choice:1. Your favourite advertisement (in any medium)2. An advertisement that made you laugh3. An advertisement that made you sad4. A media image that left an enduring impression on you.

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3Training for public health education

What is the meaning of ‘health’?

The meaning of health• What do the terms ‘health’ and ‘public health’ mean to you per-

sonally?• List examples of attitudes and behaviour which you would de-

scribe as ‘unhealthy’ in your personal life. • Are there differences between your personal and your profes-

sional use of these terms? • How do you account for these differences?• What lessons do you draw from these differences?• How would you apply those lessons to communicating ‘health

messages’?

Points worth noting

1. Each of us is unique - but we also have things in common withsome other people, and with all other people. We all share somehealth needs; other needs are more individual.

2. The same messages may be experienced in different ways. Ef-fective communication seeks to engage people in many differ-ent ways.

3. To a greater or lesser extent we are all products of our ownphysical and social environment. More organizations now treathealth, welfare and environment as linked issues, or work inpartnership with other sectors. Advocacy campaigns addresswider policy issues.

4. Society incorporates multiple values and cultural systems. Massmedia itself plays a major role in giving access to a wider rangeof perspectives.

5. Effective (health) communication is less about teaching ‘facts’and more about promoting dialogue and social links. Use of me-dia has a key place within the new public health approach to ed-ucate, persuade and make links. It is an important element inshaping a society’s value systems.

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4 Module IV

List ways in which society is changing in the following categories.

The physical environment - Discovery and depletion of natural resources. - Industrial pollution.- Lack of safe/piped water.- Rising levels of traffic.- Climate change and ozone depletion.

Political - Political upheaval.- Population movements.

Economic- Economic growth/stagnation.- Better/worse health care options.

Cultural- Increased/decreased literacy levels.- Increased use of alcohol and tobacco.- Availability of habit-forming drugs.- Falling/increasing infant mortality rates.- Increased/reduced life expectancy.- Increased/reduced poverty levels.- Technological advances.- Demand for consumer goods.

Healthy populations• List ways in which a healthy population would improve the coun-

try’s economy, and its cultural life.• What audiences would respond best to these arguments for im-

proving ‘public health’.

Health models• Draw a model that expresses your view of health and health

care. • Where does ‘the environment’ and ‘health communication’ fit in

it?

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5Training for public health education

Seeking new solutions: topics for consideration and discussion • How could/should the negative changes (which affect health) be ad-

dressed?• Should the emphasis of health policy be on ‘promoting health’ rather

than simply curing diseases?• Should health promotion focus on individual behaviour and personal

choices? • Should the target audience be the social context of families and com-

munities? • Should health (policy) messages be addressing much wider social and

economic issues, to influence significant shifts of resources and atti-tudes?

• Is it possible to ensure that health promotion is ‘equitable’?• How can you evaluate whether health promotion is ‘cost-effective’?

Individual lifestyles - Stress caused by political/economic uncertainty puts great strain

on individuals, families and communities – hence mentalillness/depression/stress-related disorders.

- Diet – eating disorders/obesity - the move to economies based onthe service and information sectors means that populations areless active. As a result in some countries nearly a third of adultsare now obese, with major health implications.

- Greater or less leisure time/travel opportunities.- Greater reliance on electronic media.- Consumer demand.- Sexual behaviour.- Sport – as participant/spectator.- Smoking rates and alcohol consumption are on in the increase,

particularly in Eastern Europe.- Substance and drug abuse is on the increase.

Patterns of disease - Chronic ‘lifestyle’ diseases related to smoking/poor nutrition/in-

activity. - Mental illness/depression/stress-related disorders possibly the

prime cause of early death in Europe.- Rising rates of TB, malaria and diphtheria. - Sharp increase in HIV infection rates - new cases nearly doubled

1999-2000 in central and eastern Europe and former USSR. - Foodborne diseases on the increase affecting around 130 million

people every year.

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• What role can the mass media play (as partners) in developing healthand health policy?

What does all this mean for health communicators?• For all the reasons we have identified, health planners in many Euro-

pean states have sought to reassess priorities - asking ‘why’ at amuch deeper level.

choices. Other methods work with the social context of families andcommunity.

• The most challenging approaches see health as a reflection of widersocial and economic systems.

• There is also more emphasis on approaches which are evidence-based, cost-effective and equitable.

• Evaluation is always difficult, yet current evidence suggests thathealth promotion can be both an effective and cost-effective ap-proach, and should be given higher global priority.

• In particular the 1986 Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion identifiedmass media as an important partner in developing health and healthpolicy.

Why use mass media?

Mass media can quickly reach many people – with vivid and high statusmessages – and so may prompt change among policy-makers and thepublic.

To appreciate the merits, and drawbacks, associated with running me-dia based campaigns, health communicators should ask themselves:

Why use mass media?1. Why would use of the mass media benefit a health campaign?2. Which specific media outlets would you use to promote your

health campaign. Why these?3. What are the strongest argument for AND against use of the

mass media in health campaigning?

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• Some initiatives aim to promote health, rather than simply curing dis-ease. Such health promotion may focus on individual behaviour and

Why are the mass media so important in communicating with the public?

1. Media occupy a central role in many cultures

2. Media have high status, and are a key source of information. Television, with its carefully framed imagery and topicality, is regardedas a particularly authoritative medium.

3. Media can create strong emotional impactDelivering news/information in ‘story’ form, especially ‘human interest’stories, can generate direct (personal/community) responses to an is-sue/predicament. The use of vivid images can crystallise complex issuesand feelings.

4. Mass media are designed to respond to changeRadio, television and the Internet can present large amounts of (con-densed) information in a short time/space, respond quickly to changingevents and attitudes; reflect cultural changes/shifts and generate socialchange (through emulation/imitation/purchasing trends).

5. Some media (channels) reach large numbers of peopleMajor news, cultural and sports events are broadcast across the worldreaching millions in an instant. Typical examples are the September 112001 atrocity and the Olympic Games. Popular television drama(‘soaps’) are followed by millions.

6. The media already carry a high level of health related itemsHealth issues have all the classic ingredients the media need – human in-terest, controversy, facts and figures. Because health, and illness, and envi-ronmental issues affect us all, there is no shortage of topics to cover, opin-ions to canvas, and (often conflicting) advice to be obtained from experts.

7. General media messages have a key role in shaping both ‘healthy’and ‘unhealthy’ behaviourProgrammes and publications that focus on ‘healthy’ issues such as nu-trition, environmental issues, sport or consumer affairs are often coun-terbalanced by content, advertising and role models which reinforce‘unhealthy’ behaviour, such as smoking, alcohol or drug misuse, vio-lence, or negative attitudes towards disabilities or minority groups.

8. The media are a major forum for political debate, so politicalleaders and ‘opinion formers’ take great notice of coverageIf the media take notice, even just to challenge or criticise, an other-wise relatively ‘ineffective’ campaign can keep issues in the public andpolitical arena.

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Media’s disadvantages:

On the other hand, mass media do not always have the power or impact that somemay assume. It may have serious disadvantages:

1. Even costly media campaigns may have little impactMedia campaigns may not go as planned, generating unexpected con-troversy that changes the focus of media coverage. Timing is an impor-tant element in promoting health issues, but other events may obliter-ate coverage because the campaign is no longer seen as topical. Rely-ing upon one media outlet alone is not enough.

2. People are not passive consumers of media – they choose,process and rejectThe public may be sceptical and resent ‘hard-sell’ campaigns. They mayperceive messages as coming from vested interests, a different socialgroup or a government that is not trusted. Where there is controversypeople may become confused and choose inertia rather than action.

3. Media can inform and motivate, but it cannot offer support,teach relevant skills, compensate for poor services, or develop com-munities By definition providing health information via media puts the recipientat one remove from the source of information. There is no obligation tofollow up. Issues are raised and then disappear as a new story takesprecedence.

One of the most important things that health departments and NGOscan do is to make sure the media know about where help can be ob-tained, and to encourage them to publicise ways in which their audi-ences can find out more.

4. The media can encourage unhealthy lifestylesMedia professional themselves operate under constant stress, and havea reputation for smoking, drinking heavily, and even abusing drugs. Theinactivity of extended TV viewing increases risk of obesity in childrenand adults, and linked health problems. There is concern about the ef-fect of regular use of mobile phones, and of living near transmissionaerials. Ironically, media use also serves an important social function,proving users with relief from stress, boredom and isolation, and pro-vides opportunities for relaxation and education.

5. Media use can cost a lotBuying advertising space is very expensive – whether on billboards, tel-evision, radio or print products. Advertising is the life-blood of inde-

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pendent media. Editorial copy has a higher credibility among the publicand is worth four times the cost of buying an equivalent space for ad-vertising. It is (or should be) free. It is in the best interest of the healthcommunicator to seek partnerships with the media as a means of sub-sidising health messages. This includes sponsorship by commercial or-ganisations.

When using the media to convey your health messages, you should al-ways ask yourself, before, during and after the media emission, whetheryour choice of media, your message and the target audience have beenwell chosen. [For more detailed information see Module III: Evaluation]

Checklist: monitoring the media• Is your issue being covered?• If not, are other issues being covered that relate to your issue?• What are the main themes and arguments presented on various

sides of the issue?• Who is reporting on your issue or stories related to it?• Who are appearing as spokespeople on your issue?• Who is writing op-ed pieces or letters to the editor on your issue?• Are any solutions presented to the problem?• Who is named or implied as having responsibility for solving the

problem? Is your target named in the coverage?• What stories, facts, or perspectives could help improve the case

for your side?• What is missing from the news coverage of your issue?

Media use should form part of a wider media health strategy.Alone, it may not be enough to create healthy communities. Cam-paigns should also consider policy, social culture and service provi-sion. The role of media in shaping these influences is as importantas the initial health messages.

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B. Health campaigning: planning, implementing and evaluating a health campaign

Define and develop the skills needed for effective health campaigning;appreciate the problems of working within time and resource con-straints limit, and to consider how the same message might be inter-preted differently by different audiences.

The participants: health staff from local or national government, work-

communication issues, or members of other civil society groups, includ-ing media workers, with an interest in public health matters.

The situation: the health minister has identified a health issue for ac-tion, perhaps because of some external pressure.

The response: the participants form a campaign team to develop a re-sponse, focusing on health communication with a strong media ele-ment.

PlanningDefining the issue What are the problems? What are reasonable goals - and how do we know? What sort of interventions are appropriate at the different levels ofpublic health work? What is the role of communication?

Defining the audiences Who are the possible audiences? Which are the key groups to whom the health messages should be tar-geted, and why?

Define the size of potential target groups (for instance, nursing moth-ers nationally, schoolchildren in a particular locality, unemployed men)and establish a campaign budget.

Defining the messages What specific messages need to be communicated? How can they be refined and simplified without losing effectiveness?The messages:• do they raise awareness of the issue?• do they motivate - by making people feel involved, or at risk?

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ers from non-governmental organizations concerned with health of

• do they help people feel competent to change?• is the suggested response clear – will the target audience know what

to do?

Content developmentResource developmentWhat are the most appropriate materials for communicating the mes-sage to the chosen audience – which might be one or several of the fol-lowing, for instance:• a basic leaflet for health workers to use with the main target group • a poster• a short radio advertisement• a short video for use by news programmes, or by community groups.

Evaluation How will the impact of the campaign be monitored? How much time and money will this take, and is it realistic? How will outcomes be reported, and released to the media? How will partner groups be kept informed?[See Module III for more information on evaluation]

Target groupsIdeally campaign messages and resources can be greatly improved ifthere is opportunity to test them out during a pilot phase. If this is notpossible, ask yourself the following questions about the target groups: • What are their lifestyles?• How do they receive messages?• What is their attitude towards ‘authorities’?• What is their attitude to ‘health messages’?

If the campaign is being launched at a press conference, members ofthe media may be sceptical or enthusiastic about health messages, andthey may claim better knowledge of their ‘audiences’ than the healthcommunicators. Ask yourself:• What media outlets will they represent?• What questions are they likely to ask?• What evidence will they want to see?

The launch press conference If the health campaign is be launched at a formal press conference, willan expert be on hand to explain the background evidence? • How did people react to the situation? • Which elements of the campaign worked well? • Where were the weak points?

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Feedback

OralAfter any media event, it is useful to have a post mortem to discoverwhat lessons have been learned, to strengthen delivery, clarify mes-sages and improve information materials. Video or audio recording ofthe launch press conference encourages feedback from all those in-volved.

Writing up your campaignWriting up your campaign is extremely useful to:- share experience of your health campaigns with others- consider how success was achieved- discuss problems encountered and share solutions- develop best practice ideas that can be replicated.This is useful for all health and environmental educators and NGOs, me-dia practitioners, policy advisors, particularly if they come from differ-ent locations and cultural settings.

Sharing experienceApart from alerting people to the varieties of challenge that their col-leagues elsewhere face, and sharing problem-solving techniques, thisshould also remind people of the importance of writing up their cam-paigns, and seeking publicity in ‘trade’ publications and networks towhich colleagues might belong.

If they are clear, distribute a set of the completed questionnaires to allparticipants. Or make arrangements for them to be written up and sentto participants afterwards, but at least give back copies of the originalform to those who filled them in. Encourage people to keep in touchwith each other.

The important point is to demonstrate how best practice is ‘discovered’.An ideal example would be to show how a group has adapted the expe-riences of others elsewhere to a quite different location.

In Belfast, Northern Ireland, health campaigners produced leaflets alerting local resi-dents and tourists to ‘non-smoking’ establishments in the city. Publicity about thescheme encouraged health campaigners in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, andJerusalem, Israel to take up the idea. A simple idea which has the virtue of a poten-tial to attract advertising revenue from restaurants and leisure facilities and enhancethe reputation of the city, as well as providing a public service and promoting healthmessages.

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A model questionnaire

What are the common issues that appear to apply across country/cul-tural borders, (lack of data/media skills/money/political will) and thosewhich appear to be peculiar to particular cultures (e.g. how do you con-tact women in closed Muslim societies; how do you get messages about

Model questionnaire for health campaign evaluation

Contact details:Name:Organization:PositionAddress:Tel:Fax :Email:Website:

1. Title of Campaign

2. What problem did the campaign address? (e.g., rising number of road accidentsinvolving children)

3. What specific solutions were being advocated? (e.g., policies requiring traffic

4. Who was targeted as having the power to make necessary changes? (e.g.,transport minister, mayor, etc.)

5.cy maker? ( e.g., students, parents, local community groups, etc.)

6. What resources were available for the campaign? (e.g. funds, personnel, etc.)

7. What messages were used to reach the decision-makers with the power, ANDto mobilize those who can influence these decision-makers?

8. (How) did you ‘pre-test’ messages?

9. What media were selected to deliver the messages? (e.g., print, radio, televi-sion, direct marketing, etc.)

10. What campaign activities were organized? (e.g. launch press conference, mediastunt, mass distribution, training programmes, peer education project, localisedcommunity development)

11. What was result of campaign? How did you measure the impact? (e.g. lettersin the press, news items or features, requests for more information, reactionsfrom politicians, formation of campaign groups)

12. what advice would you give to others who want to follow your example?)

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What lessons did YOU learn from the campaign? (e.g. what went right/wrong –

slowing measures near schools – stop signs, “sleeping policemen”, etc.)

What groups and people were targeted that could influence the decisionpoli-

sexual behaviour to young people in cultures where such things arefrowned upon)? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the cam-paign?

Sharing experience

How can these lessons be shared with others – especially those withlimited resources or experience of health campaigning?

Sharing experience of health campaigning- List what seem to you to be common issues faced by health

campaigners- List some specific problems that arise because of the nature

of the issue or the setting of the campaign- List some methods for sharing positive and negative experi-

ences of health campaigns- What are the key areas in which you feel health campaigners

need assistance?

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C. Reporting suicide: awareness training for journalists1

[More complete background notes for trainers can be found in Appendix 4 and Ap-pendix 5]

1. Aim – to sensitize journalists to suicide-related issues and alert themto their responsibilities when covering stories about suicide.

2. Purpose – to encourage journalists working in print, television andthe electronic media to consider the ethical issues involved in portray-ing suicidal behaviour in the media.

3. Issues – privacy, public interest, intrusion, identification, anonymity,confidentiality, permission, representation, language, sensationalism,

challenging myths, copycat effect, ethical guidelines, codes of conduct.

4. Method – this trainer-led method includes group discussion, ex-change of first-hand experience, practical exercises, editorial role-playand evaluation.

5. Outcome – to make health communicators more aware of the facts,figures and implications of suicide and to give them a deeper under-standing of the delicate balance required between journalists’ profes-sional and creative obligations and suicide coverage. It includes sharingof personal experiences, participation in problem solving, consideringpractical ways of balancing these issues and evaluating the results.They will also consider ways of improving coverage of suicide and drawup guidelines for dissemination in the workplace.

Suicide: private matter or public concern?Journalists do not like having to report the details of a suicide case. Yetit is generally acknowledged that many suicides are ‘newsworthy’events.

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1 These notes are based on a training session for journalists devised by The PressWise

Trust (UK) in partnership with the NGO Befrienders International.

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sexualized images, use of sources, use of pictures, use of statistics,

The act of suicide itself is an intensely private matter. But media cover-age of suicide-related issues can highlight important areas of publicconcern.

Recent research2 has examined guidelines, training and ethical issuesregarding the way suicide is reported. It concluded: There is no consensus over how to report suicide;Any strong official advice is likely to be resented or ignored;Awareness training about suicide issues would be beneficial;Media professionals need to develop their own guidelines.

This investigation was in direct response to the latest academic reviewof international research which concluded that “Responsible approaches tothe portrayal of suicidal behaviour in the media can save lives.”

What is “responsible reporting”? What do we mean by “suicidal behaviour”?

What is suicidal behaviour?The topic of suicide is shrouded in mystery and riddled with taboos.Journalists must be equipped to inform their audience and to encour-age better public understanding of the complexity of suicidal behaviour.

How can we seek expert advice on the subject and how can we promotediscussion on the risk factors and contributory causes? Also, how can we challenge the common myths?

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2 By the PressWise Trust, the UK-based media ethics charity and Befrienders Interna-

tional.

Exercise 1

[See background notes, Appendix 4]

Worksheet 1

True or False?

“If someone’s going to kill themselves, there is nothing you can do about it.”TRUE/FALSE

“Talking about suicide encourages it.”TRUE/FALSE

“Suicide can be a blessed relief not just for the individual but for those that sur-round him or her.”

TRUE/FALSE

“The suicide rate is on the decrease.”TRUE/FALSE

“Those who talk about suicide are the least likely to attempt it.”TRUE/FALSE

“Once a person is suicidal, they are suicidal forever.”TRUE/FALSE

“Suicide is never the result of a single factor or event.”TRUE/FALSE

“If someone has a history of making ‘cries for help’ then they won’t do it for real.”TRUE/FALSE

“Suicidal people are fully intent on dying.”TRUE/FALSE

“High-profile media reporting of an individual suicide has a copycat effect.”TRUE/FALSE

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DiscussionWhat do these statements reveal about your own knowledge and as-sumptions about suicidal behaviour?How might these assumptions affect your reporting of suicide?To what extent do you think the media challenges the myths?

Exercise 2

a) The death knock - dealing with distressing assignmentsEach participant gives a short example of how they dealt with their ownemotional reaction when covering a tragic death for the media.

DiscussionHow do media professionals cope with their own feelings when cover-ing a distressing assignment?To what extent should journalists reveal their emotional responses andanxieties to colleagues in the newsroom?What, if any, work-based advice or support should be available?

[See background notes, Appendix 4]

b) Turning the tables - dealing with death on your doorstepEach person writes a headline and intro/cue for a news story about arecent death in their family or immediate circle.

DiscussionHow might this death be handled as a news story?Is it really newsworthy?How would you feel about the media covering your personal bereave-ment?

Sensitivity vs sensationalism

As far as the world’s media is concerned, there are those who are in-tent on reporting every harrowing and lurid detail of a suicide case.Others avoid mentioning suicide at all.

Some media professionals take a more measured approach. They usetheir editorial judgement to report only the cases that are in the publicinterest. They are sensitive about including detail of methods, motivesor substances.

Experts in the field of suicide prevention, mental health promotion, psy-chiatry and counselling support this more balanced attitude.

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Exercise 3 Media portrayal of suicide – good or bad practice?A group exercise intended to reveal the differing approaches in mediaportrayal of suicide.

EitherParticipants form into small working groups of 3-4 people. Each groupdiscusses various examples of suicide coverage brought along by par-ticipants from their own media outlets or other sources. One groupmember feeds back the group’s findings to the main session.OrParticipants view and discuss collectively a variety of examples select-ed by the tutor from print, broadcast and online media.

DiscussionHow do you define good or bad practice in portrayal of suicide?What is “responsible reporting”?What sorts of organizations are useful sources of information and sta-tistics on suicide issues? What might help or encourage journalists to take a more sensitive ap-proach?

Exercise 4 Media portrayal of suicide – rights and wrongs? This collective exercise is aimed at: Sharing information and experience;Meeting gaps in participants’ knowledge;Discussing the relative effectiveness of legal restrictions and voluntaryreporting guidelines;Encouraging best practice.

Each participant is handed a worksheet containing up to 10 questionsabout the law relating to suicide and about media industry-based stan-dards regarding suicide coverage. The questionnaire should be complet-ed collectively.

DiscussionDo we need regulations on reporting of suicide?To what extent might they limit “press freedom”?What sorts of codes and guidelines are the most effective in encourag-ing best practice?

[See background notes, Appendix 4]

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[See background notes, Appendix 4]

Responsible reporting

Exercise 5This role-play exercise involves a selection of practical case studies re-flecting real-life professional scenarios.

Participants form small groups of 3-4 representing television, radio,

outline or tackle the same outline for comparative purposes.

Each group has 20 minutes to plan (not produce a finished product)news or features coverage of the story in outline, before reporting back

• What key questions will you ask?• What sources will you use?• Who will you want to interview?• What angles might you consider?• What images might you adopt?• What ethical issues does this story raise?

Discussion• How can journalists resolve the ethical dilemmas raised in these sto-

ries?• In what other meaningful ways could you cover the issues?

Worksheet 2

Legal and Ethical Guidelines

1. What is the legal definition of suicide?2. How does the law restrict suicide reporting when it occurs?3. How does the law restrict suicide reporting at an inquest hear-

ing/inquiry?4. What industry guidelines or codes of practice on suicide exist

for print media?5. What industry guidelines or codes of practice on suicide exist

for broadcast media?6. Are they regulatory or self-regulatory?7. What guidance exists from non-media organisations?8. What is your workplace policy on portrayal of suicide?9. Have you ever received specific training on how to cover sui-

cide?

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print or online journalists. Each group could tackle a different story

to the main session. They should consider the following:

• How can you balance these demands with the commercial pressuresfaced by journalists?

[See background notes, Appendix 4]

[See background notes, Appendix 4]

Worksheet 3

Story outlines

1. A pop idol with a history of self-harm dies from a heroin over-dose. It is unclear whether he took his own life.

2. A young Asian woman dies weeks after taking a large quantityof painkillers. Friends claim she had been resisting an arrangedmarriage.

3. A young man jumps to his death. Family and friends assert he“had everything to live for”.

4. A teenage girl is found hanged hours after quarrelling with herboyfriend at a party. Her mother disputes it was suicide.

5. An older couple dies in a suicide “pact”. They’d recently movedinto their dream retirement home in the country. Neighbourssay they “seemed a lovely couple”.

6. A police officer bludgeons his wife and two young children todeath before hanging himself. Two other children witness the in-cident. His colleagues claim his wife had been having an affair.

7. A controversy erupts over the fictional portrayal of a youngwoman’s suicide attempt in a TV soap drama. Casualty depart-ments complain they have had to deal with a spate of “copycat”incidents.

8. A jumbo jet operated by Middle Eastern airline crashes into thesea. A leaked air traffic control tape seems to imply that the pi-lot crashed the plane deliberately. Unconfirmed reports suggesthe had mental health problems.

9. More than 200 members of a religious cult, including over 50children, die in a fire at their remote mountain camp. Police aretreating it as “mass suicide”.

10. Three students set fire to themselves in the middle of a crowd-ed city centre square. They are members of a small, extremist

their intentions.

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anti-government organization. They had alerted the media to

Conclusions and recommendationsMost journalists would agree that they need help and advice on how toreport sensitively and responsibly on suicide-related issues. One way isto draw up professional guidelines for dissemination among colleagues.

These should not seek to impose standards or ready-made solutions. In-stead they should inspire journalists to develop practical strategies andto set their own voluntary codes of conduct for covering suicide.

[See background notes, Appendix 4]

Exercise 6 Where do we go from here?All participants contribute ideas for a set of professional media guide-lines that could encourage more responsible reporting of suicide.

Discussion• What will you put in the guidelines?• Can they be implemented under professional working conditions?• How effective do you think they could be in helping to save the lives

of vulnerable people?• Would you be prepared to propose these or an amended version to

your editor as a model for adoption in your workplace?

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Module IV

TRAINING FORPUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATION

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