UNAIR NEWS听– Former Vice President of International Association for Suicide Prevention听(IASP), Prof.听Paul Yip was present as a speaker at Surabaya Suicide Update 2019 Workshop & Symposium: “Working Together to Prevent Suicide.”听It took place at Faculty of Medicine, UNAIR, September 6-7, 2019.
In the forum, Prof. Paul Yip said that in his home country, Hong Kong, he educated several YouTubers as听key opinion leaders听(KOL) on suicide prevention.听The project began with the rise of suicide cases among students in Hong Kong.
The majority of students in Hong Kong experience two common problems. First, depression from academic demands. Second, limited support. These two things lead to depression which leads to suicide.
The phenomenon was exacerbated by mistreatment from the media, which听highlights the听news of suicide as headlines of the newspaper.听It is not following the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.听The WHO regulates how suicide is reported because suicide news can also encourage others with听suicidal thoughts听to commit suicide.
The number of false reports about suicide is directly proportional to the suicide rate itself. Correct publication on suicide news is needed to prevent more victims. For this reason, an educated and relevant KOL is needed for the student population.
Youngsters tend to be withdrawn due to problems, so they cannot get proper help from family or medical assistance or professionals.听They prefer to express their problems online.听Thus, Prof.听Yip sees the prospects听Youtube as a medium for suicide prevention.
Why choose Youtubers as KOL?听Because according to Prof.听Yip, it is far more effective than holding dissemination event about suicide prevention.听“Young people are not interested in listening to the parents, and they prefer to watch听YouTube,” he said.
YouTubers who have been following five hours of education on听suicide prevention听then produce content about correct knowledge, attitudes, and behavior that about suicide.听These KOL Youtubers also opened positive discussions about suicide issues in the comments space.
Prof.听Yip also said that the suicide problem is like听iceberg.听The act of suicide is only the tip on the surface of the sea.听Below the surface shows problematic systems.听Therefore, suicide is a complex social problem, not just a medical problem.听(*)
Author: Fida Aifiya
Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh
