Effectiveness of a Suicide Awareness and Safe Reporting Training Program for Media Students: A Quasi Single-Arm Interventional Study in Indian Context

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of age-standardized years of life loss in India. Capacity building of media professionals to adhere the guidelines for responsible suicide reporting has been corroborated as empirical artillery for suicide prevention.Aim: To assess the effectiveness of suicide awareness and responsible suicide coverage training program among media students enrolled in undergraduate course of mass media studies from Urban Bengaluru, India.Method: A quasi single-arm pre-and-post-test interventional design was employed on a sample of 35 undergraduate media students of a university. The three hours training program was divided into three brief modules involving a skill-based experiential learning framework, with didactic and interactive elements. For evaluation, participants completed questionnaires of LOSS, SOSS and SREQ scales pre and post the training intervention.Results: There was significant difference between the scores obtained before and after the intervention in all the three scales. The scores in the feedback forms reflected high satisfaction among the participants regarding the training.Limitations: Absence of a randomized controlled trial and a follow-up evaluation are few demerits of the study.Conclusion: The study highlights that undergraduate media students can become aware on suicide and safe media reporting through a brief structured training program.