Journal article
Towards a shared understanding: Perspectives from Toronto's first media forum for suicide prevention
Mark Sinyor, Jane Pirkis, Andre Picard, David McKeown, Margaret Vincent, Christian Cheung, Ayal Schaffer, Jan Fordham, Rosie Mishaiel, Marnin Heisel
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH-REVUE CANADIENNE DE SANTE PUBLIQUE | CANADIAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOC | Published : 2016
Abstract
Media reporting on suicide may have harmful and/or protective effects on deaths by suicide, depending on the nature of the coverage. Canada's first forum on this important issue was held in Toronto on November 6, 2015. Participating in the forum were public health policy-makers, mental health and suicide prevention experts and senior media representatives. This commentary summarizes the content of the forum and highlights the need for ongoing collaboration between suicide prevention experts and media professionals aimed at safe and respectful reporting that maintains the public's need to be informed.
Grants
Awarded by American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank the staff at Toronto Public Health and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre for organizing the event. We thank the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention whose generous grant support (Grant YIG-0-131-13 awarded to Mark Sinyor) was instrumental in the collaboration between Dr. Pirkis and those of us who are researchers in Canada. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.