Manjistha Datta, Sujita Kumar Kar and S.M. Yasir Arafat
Suicide in prisons accounts for about half of all prison deaths globally. A bibliometric analysis would indicate research output and potential contributors in the sector, which…
Abstract
Purpose
Suicide in prisons accounts for about half of all prison deaths globally. A bibliometric analysis would indicate research output and potential contributors in the sector, which has not been conducted previously. The purpose of this paper was to conduct a bibliometric analysis to understand the patterns, trends and gaps in research on this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The PubMed database was searched by using the terms: (suicide) AND ((Prison) OR (prisoner) OR (incarceration)). A bibliometric analysis was done with the help of Harvard Catalyst, PubMed PubReMiner and biblioshiny.
Findings
A total of 1,683 publications were identified in the PubMed database from 1949 to 2024, with an annual growth rate of 4.4% and a Hirsch index of 46. Journal articles were the top publications with the highest number in the journal Crisis. The USA published the highest number of articles, and countries with low income showed much less production.
Originality/value
Prison suicide is not well-researched worldwide. The majority of the studies are published in high-income countries. An interdisciplinary outlook and more intervention-based and longitudinal studies are required in this field. Importantly, more research in low- and middle-income countries is required to understand mental health issues and prevent suicide in prisons.
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Ramdas Ransing, Sujita Kumar Kar, Vikas Menon, Aman Mhamunkar, Ishwar Patil and S.M. Yasir Arafat
This paper aims to evaluate the adherence of media reports of suicide published in vernacular language newspapers against the World Health Organization guidelines.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the adherence of media reports of suicide published in vernacular language newspapers against the World Health Organization guidelines.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors performed a content analysis of all suicide-related news reports published in the seven most widely circulated vernacular newspapers of Maharashtra. News reports published from April 2020 to May 2020 were included.
Findings
Among the 355 retrieved suicide reports, 39.2% reports were placed at a prominent position of the newspaper, 92.8% mentioned the name of a person, 93.8% mentioned the method of suicide, while 56.0% reported monocausal explanations for suicide. In contrast, 20.8% of news reports acknowledged a link with mental health disorders, while 0.3% news reports provided information about suicide prevention programs, and 0.8% mentioned suicide-related statistics.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to report content analysis of suicide reports from Maharashtra state, which is one of the most developed states in India and has high rates of youth and farmer suicides.