Media-based surveillance of suicide in Türkiye: a mixed-methods analysis of epidemiological patterns, homicide-suicide events, and contextual factors.
- 1Saray District Health Directorate, Tekirdağ Provincial Health Directorate, Tekirdağ, Türkiye.
- 2Department of Oncology Nursing, Hamidiye Faculty of Nursing, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Türkiye.
- 3Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Istanbul Topkapi University, İstanbul, Türkiye.
Abstract
Background
Suicide remains a major public health concern worldwide, yet official mortality statistics often provide limited information regarding the contextual circumstances surrounding suicide events. Media reports provide insights into demographic characteristics, suicide methods, homicide-suicide incidents, and the social contexts associated with these events. This study aimed to examine suicide cases reported in Turkish media using a mixed-methods approach with epidemiological surveillance and qualitative document analysis.Methods
A convergent mixed-methods design was employed. Suicide-related news reports published in Turkish media between January and December 2025 were prospectively monitored and screened. After removing duplicate reports, 688 suicide cases were included in the quantitative analysis. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted to examine demographic characteristics, suicide methods, geographic distribution, and homicide-suicide patterns. Qualitative document analysis was performed on contextual narratives from 179 suicide cases. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated during interpretation.Results
Among the 688 media-reported suicide cases, 76.7% were male, 15.7% were female, and sex was not reported for the remaining 7.6%. Firearms (43.2%) and hanging (30.4%) were the most frequently reported suicide methods. Homicide-suicide was identified in 16.1% of cases and was significantly more common among males than females (20.3% vs. 2.8%, unadjusted OR = 8.90, 95% CI: 2.77-28.58, p < 0.001). Suicide method was significantly associated with homicide-suicide status (p < 0.001). Among suicides involving firearms, 30.6% were classified as homicide-suicide. Within the media-reported sample, the proportion of cases classified as homicide-suicide differed significantly across regions. Qualitative analysis identified one descriptive event/legal category-violence, homicide-suicide event characteristics, and legal circumstances (31.8%)-and four contextual themes: physical and psychological health problems and addictions (26.3%); family and intimate relationship conflicts (24.6%); economic and occupational difficulties (15.6%); and social exclusion and social vulnerability (1.7%). Integration of findings indicated that homicide-suicide events were frequently embedded within narratives of domestic violence, relationship conflict, and legal problems, whereas psychological distress and economic hardship emerged as common contextual factors across suicide cases.Conclusion
Media-reported suicide cases in Türkiye demonstrated distinct epidemiological and contextual patterns that should be interpreted within the context of media reporting rather than as representative of all suicide deaths in the country. Combining epidemiological surveillance with qualitative analysis provides complementary contextual information that may inform suicide prevention policies, responsible media reporting practices, and future research integrating official mortality data.
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BibTeX
@article{ucar2026mediabased,
title = {{Media-based surveillance of suicide in Türkiye: a mixed-methods analysis of epidemiological patterns, homicide-suicide events, and contextual factors.}},
author = {Mahmut Talha Uçar and Elif Dönmez and Tulay Ortabag},
journal = {Frontiers in public health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2026.1935064},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42910174},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Media-based surveillance of suicide in Türkiye: a mixed-methods analysis of epidemiological patterns, homicide-suicide events, and contextual factors.
AU - Mahmut Talha Uçar
AU - Elif Dönmez
AU - Tulay Ortabag
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Frontiers in public health
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1935064
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42910174
AB - Background Suicide remains a major public health concern worldwide, yet official mortality statistics often provide limited information regarding the contextual circumstances surrounding suicide events. Media reports provide insights into demographic characteristics, suicide methods, homicide-suicide incidents, and the social contexts associated with these events. This study aimed to examine suicide cases reported in Turkish media using a mixed-methods approach with epidemiological surveillance and qualitative document analysis.Methods A convergent mixed-methods design was employed. Suicide-related news reports published in Turkish media between January and December 2025 were prospectively monitored and screened. After removing duplicate reports, 688 suicide cases were included in the quantitative analysis. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted to examine demographic characteristics, suicide methods, geographic distribution, and homicide-suicide patterns. Qualitative document analysis was performed on contextual narratives from 179 suicide cases. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated during interpretation.Results Among the 688 media-reported suicide cases, 76.7% were male, 15.7% were female, and sex was not reported for the remaining 7.6%. Firearms (43.2%) and hanging (30.4%) were the most frequently reported suicide methods. Homicide-suicide was identified in 16.1% of cases and was significantly more common among males than females (20.3% vs. 2.8%, unadjusted OR = 8.90, 95% CI: 2.77-28.58, p < 0.001). Suicide method was significantly associated with homicide-suicide status (p < 0.001). Among suicides involving firearms, 30.6% were classified as homicide-suicide. Within the media-reported sample, the proportion of cases classified as homicide-suicide differed significantly across regions. Qualitative analysis identified one descriptive event/legal category-violence, homicide-suicide event characteristics, and legal circumstances (31.8%)-and four contextual themes: physical and psychological health problems and addictions (26.3%); family and intimate relationship conflicts (24.6%); economic and occupational difficulties (15.6%); and social exclusion and social vulnerability (1.7%). Integration of findings indicated that homicide-suicide events were frequently embedded within narratives of domestic violence, relationship conflict, and legal problems, whereas psychological distress and economic hardship emerged as common contextual factors across suicide cases.Conclusion Media-reported suicide cases in Türkiye demonstrated distinct epidemiological and contextual patterns that should be interpreted within the context of media reporting rather than as representative of all suicide deaths in the country. Combining epidemiological surveillance with qualitative analysis provides complementary contextual information that may inform suicide prevention policies, responsible media reporting practices, and future research integrating official mortality data.
SN - 2296-2565
ER -