Gambling-related suicide in East African Community countries: evidence from press media reports

BMC Public Health

Mohammed A. Mamun¹  Alain Favina²  Godfrey Zari Rukundo³  Mark Mohan Kaggwa⁴  Rahel Nkola⁵  Gideon Munaru⁶  Moses Kule⁷  Innocent Arinaitwe⁸  Moses Muwanguzi⁸  Raymond Bernard Kihumuro⁸  Sarah Maria Najjuka⁹  Mark D. Griffiths^1,10 

[1] CHINTA Research Bangladesh, Savar, 1342, Dhaka, Bangladesh;Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, 1342, Dhaka, Bangladesh;Department of Public Health, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh;Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda;Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda;African Centre for Suicide Prevention and Research, Mbarara, Uganda;Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda;African Centre for Suicide Prevention and Research, Mbarara, Uganda;CHINTA Research Bangladesh, Savar, 1342, Dhaka, Bangladesh;Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda;Department of Psychiatry, Bugando Medical Center, Mwanza, Tanzania;Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda;Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kisii, Kenya;Department of psychiatry, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Mbarara, Uganda;Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science & Technology, Mbarara, Uganda;Makerere University, College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda;Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, 50 Shakespeare Street, NG1 4FQ, Nottingham, UK;

关键词: Gambling;    Betting;    Uganda;    Kenya;    East Africa;    Suicide;    Media reporting suicide;    Gambling-related suicide;    East African community;    Gambling laws;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-021-12306-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundGambling activities and associated mental health problems have become a topic of increased concern globally. Many individuals with a severe gambling disorder have gambling-related suicidality. However, no study has explored gambling-related suicide in East African Community (EAC) countries. The present study investigated the press media reporting of gambling-related suicide cases from EAC countries.MethodsAs there is no established suicide database in that region, media reports were utilized to collect gambling-related suicide data. Gambling-related suicide case reports were searched for in EAC countries’ press media websites using Google. After removing duplicates, a total of 18 suicides were found.ResultsThe victims were all males aged 16 to 40 years. The most prevalent reason for the death was university students who had used their university tuition fees for gambling and losing the money (n = 4/17). All the suicide deaths were in Kenya (10/18), Uganda (7/18), and Tanzania (1/18). Betting on soccer was the most common type of gambling reported (n = 11/15), and hanging was the most used mode of suicide (n = 10/16).ConclusionsBased on the press media reports, 18 males were identified as having carried out gambling-related suicides. The countries with the most widespread opportunities to gamble had more gambling-related suicides, although the number of suicides was very small.

【 授权许可】

CC BY