Citation

Mohn C, Haga E, Nilsson HSW, Pirkis J, Mehlum L. BMC Psychiatry 2024; 24(1): e444.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group - BMC)

DOI

10.1186/s12888-024-05905-x

PMID

38877487

PMCID

PMC11177419

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Suicide prevention media campaigns are one way of reaching people at increased suicide risk who would otherwise not seek help. This is the first study of a Norwegian campaign directed both at individuals at risk for suicide and at their social network.

METHODS: We evaluated a media campaign consisting of outdoor posters, feature articles, film clips, and online banners in print, digital, and social media spread across the Mid-Norway region in late autumn 2022. This campaign material consisted of information about how to seek help for suicide thoughts and mental health problems and how to help a friend in similar situations. Before and after this campaign, 1149 adult individuals living in Mid-Norway participated in a survey on attitudes to suicide, mental ill health, and help-seeking.

RESULTS: There were only marginal changes in attitudes and help-seeking literacy after the campaign. This result was sustained when controlling for age, sex, and campaign visibility. For males, there were a few changes in the negative direction, i.e. lack of willingness to seek help from family and friends, after the campaign.

CONCLUSION: We conclude that the campaign did not seem to have the desired effect and suggest ways of improving future regional Norwegian media campaigns.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Adult; Aged; Female; Male; Middle Aged; Norway; Adolescent; Suicide; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Young Adult; Help-seeking; Surveys and Questionnaires; *Suicide Prevention; Suicide/psychology; Suicide prevention; Social Media; Mental health stigma; Help-Seeking Behavior; Patient Acceptance of Health Care/psychology; *Mass Media; Health Promotion/methods; Public campaign