You can tell a lot about a country’s mental health by the way it is reported in the media. Some scholars believe that media such as newspapers, radio, and television influence negative views about mental health. Suggests that it is the opposite: media reflect what society already believes.
In light of these debates, we wanted to explore the role Ghana’s print media plays in shaping public opinions and spreading knowledge about mental disorders.
In order to do this, we looked at articles on mental health published in newspapers across the country between 2000 and 2015. In Ghana, there were several developments in the area of mental health during this period.
Generally, our analysis shows that Ghanaian newspapers do a good job of reporting on mental health. Many articles were devoted to educating the readers on this issue. The articles also showed how people with mental disorders are still stigmatized in society.
The findings we have come up with are encouraging, given the important role that the media plays in educating and informing people.
However, some areas raised concern. In some cases, we found that newspapers did not provide accurate information on mental health. It is important to address this. Mental health experts can be brought in to Ghana’s media to teach journalists how to cover relevant issues. These experts can also be used to check facts.
What we Found
We chose newspapers as they are the most popular source for Ghanaians.
We identified several mental health themes by analyzing 164 articles in six Ghanaian papers – The Chronicle (The Daily Graphic), Ghanaian Times (The Mirror), Spectator (The Spectator), and Times Weekend. The themes were awareness, advocacy and opinion, suicide (and funding), donations, and religion. What we found is shown below.
Mental Health Awareness: These articles were written to raise awareness about mental disorders and treatment options. Some articles made false statements or misidentified mental issues. Only 1,8% of the articles in our sample contained misinformation. It is still a serious problem.
A columnist advised on how to overcome severe shyness when around women. The piece was titled “This is killing me softly”. The advice columnist gave to the writer challenged him to talk to women but failed to mention the mental health implications, namely anxiety.
Advocacy Articles from this category are meant to mobilize public support for mental health policies. The article “Ghana’s Population in Psychological Distress” called for the implementation of Ghana’s Mental Health Law.
These articles highlight the barriers to implementing policies on mental health and administrative obstacles that prevent mental healthcare services from expanding.
Opinion These articles offered a writer’s viewpoint on mental health concerns. An opinion piece on a current investigation into psychiatric hospitals was one example. This article showed how newspapers could be used to make social commentary about mental health issues and remind readers of the reality of mental illness.
The press also played a role in bringing public agencies to account for issues that would otherwise have been suppressed.
Suicide The majority of articles in this category are investigative reports that identify the victims and the circumstances that may have led to the suicide. Some articles were written to increase awareness of suicide.
As authorities on suicide, we also found that the columnists had a significant impact on their readers’ lives. One anonymous reader, for example, wrote to a columnist offering advice that he had felt like suicide because he could not afford to support his six newborns. The columnist provided the writer with useful services and resources.
These articles collectively illustrate the reality and impact of suicide on Ghana.
Donations are a subset of articles that report on donations made by individuals and organizations to psychiatric hospitals. They included donations of cash, time, or in-kind service.
Local philanthropy is a reflection of the limited funding that exists to support the operation of psychiatric hospitals, public awareness of the funding gap, and general willingness to contribute resources.
Religion Other articles examined Christianity as a way to self-care for mental health. It is not surprising that religion and mental health are interconnected, given the fact that most Ghanaians are Christians.
Lessons
The information provided here is not exhaustive. For example, similar research could be conducted on the coverage of mental health on radio or television.
It is a good starting point to understand the messages Ghanaians receive about mental health. This analysis can be used to encourage journalists and media outlets to think about their reporting on mental health issues differently and fill in any gaps.
