| dc.description.abstract |
Globally, media coverage of mental health issues, particularly
suicides, has become a public concern. Studies show that how
the media reports on sensitive health topics is likely to either
raise awareness or lead to suicide incidences in any given
society. This study examined the communication gaps in media
reporting of suicides to recommend interventions to promote
mental health awareness and wellness among the youth and the
general public. This study used Media Representation,
Cultivation, and Framing theories of mass communication to
develop a theoretical framework. A relativist-constructivist
paradigm was adopted. A qualitative research approach to get
varied views from the participants of the study was used.
Content analysis of suicide news from the two selected
newspapers, namely Daily Nation and The Standard
Newspapers, form the main sources of data. In-depth
interviews were incorporated to complement the deeper
understanding of the field of study. The study population was
specific suicide cases from the two newspapers from 2018-2024.
A sample size was of 25 key informants compromising youths,
journalists and mental health experts whose responses
supplemented data from key sources from the two newspapers.
The participants were chosen through snowballing and
purposive sampling techniques. The key findings of this study
were that Newspaper reports on suicide do not adhere to the
WHO guidelines on suicide prevention since most journalists in
the Kenyan media have limited knowledge of the regulations
and the media houses lack regulatory policies and guidelines on
suicide reporting and prevention in Kenya. Therefore, the study
proposed that the Media Council of Kenya and media houses,
in general, should come up with robust guidelines on suicide
reporting and prevention to minimise harm among the general
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