PS04 - Suicide Prevention Through Media Campaigns

Suicide Prevention Media Campaigns in Norway
August, 28 | 17:00 - 18:30

In Norway, suicide rates have been stable across the last three decades, with approximately 650 individuals taking their own life each year. Two-thirds of them are men. About half of all individuals who die by suicide in Norway do not seek contact with specialist mental health services during the year prior to death. Suicide prevention media campaigns is one way of reaching people at increased suicide risk who would otherwise not seek help. As part of the Norwegian government’s strategy for reducing national suicide rates, media campaigns aimed at increasing mental health literacy and help-seeking in the general population will be conducted across the country, one region at the time, between 2020 and 2025. This talk presents results from three regions, Mid-, West-, and South-Norway, with pre- and post-campaign surveys assessing attitudes to suicide, mental illness, and help-seeking from 4282 individuals stratified across sex, age, and geographical location. The campaign material consists of short film clips and feature articles presented on TV and movie theaters, in print and digital media and social media channels in each region at the time. The campaign message is directed both at individuals with suicide thought and their social network. The characters featuring in the campaign material are predominately males older than 40 years, representing a group of people with high suicide rates but who rarely seek help. In general, there were very few and small alterations in attitudes to suicide, mental illness, and help-seeking after the campaigns. Possible explanations for this finding will be discussed.

Speakers