Suicide among Ugandan university students: evidence from media reports for 2010–2020

Kaggwa, Mark Mohan; Muwanguzi, Moses; Nduhuura, Elicana; Kajjimu, Jonathan; Arinaitwe, Innocent; Kule, Moses; Najjuka, Sarah Maria; Rukundo, Godfrey Zari

doi:10.1192/bji.2021.13

Cited by 30 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…36 Furthermore, several studies observe the diversity of suicide and suicidal behaviors across gender, including attributing factors such as social construction of masculinity and femininity, life historyrelated issues, lifestyle and social status conditions, their role in society, and psychological vulnerabilities. [37][38][39][40] Consistent with this scenario, all the prior studies conducted during the pandemic reported females were at higher risk of suicidal ideation [21][22][23][24] and other mental health problems, 41,42 but no gender-based statistical difference was found in this study. Such an unexpected finding needs to be explored in future studies considering a greater focus on gender-based vulnerabilities towards suicide.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Suicidality in Bangladeshi Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Behavioral Factors, COVID-19 Risk and Fear, and Mental Health Problems

Mamun¹,

Al‐Mamun²,

Hosen³

et al. 2021

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Background It is said that psychological stressors have risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may contribute to suicidality. A few studies were conducted investigating suicidality amid the first wave of the pandemic in Bangladesh, but none of these studies explored the predictive role of the suicidality-related factors (eg, behavior and health-related variables, COVID-19 risk, fear of COVID-19). Thus, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of suicidality and the predictive models explaining suicidality variance among Bangladeshi young adults during the second wave of the pandemic. Methods An online-based cross-sectional survey was conducted during the second wave of the pandemic (between 1 and 13 April 2021; a year after the pandemic's inception in the country). The survey questionnaire collected information on socio-demographics, behavior and health-related variables, COVID-19 risk, fear of COVID-19, depression, anxiety, and suicidality. A total of 756 data were analyzed (male 59%; mean age 22.24 ±4.39 years), and hierarchical regression was performed considering suicidality as the dependent variable. A p -value <0.05 was set to be statistically significant with a 95% of confidence interval. Results About 8.2% reported having at least suicidal thoughts within the pandemic inception to survey time (one-year suicidal ideation). More specifically, 7.40% had only suicidal ideation, whereas 0.10% planned for suicide, 0.70% attempted suicide. None of the socio-demographic variables was significantly associated with suicidality. Taking drugs, performing less physical activity, poor self-reporting health condition, being comorbid, being at higher COVID-19 risk, having fear of COVID-19 infection, and suffering from depression and anxiety were significantly associated with a higher risk of suicidality. However, the final model including all of the studied variables explained a 17.1% (F=8.245, p <0.001) variance in terms of suicidality. Conclusion Although this study reported a lower severity of suicidality than prior Bangladeshi studies conducted during the first wave of the pandemic, a portion of people are still at risk of suicide and they should be given attention.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Suicidality in Bangladeshi Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Behavioral Factors, COVID-19 Risk and Fear, and Mental Health Problems

Mamun¹,

Al‐Mamun²,

Hosen³

et al. 2021

RMHP

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“…Six have been in Uganda and one in Rwanda, leaving out other highly affected countries in the region like Kenya. In addition, a recent publication by Kaggwa et al (2021) reported 5 out of 21 university students allegedly died by suicide after using money meant for university tuition fees on gambling [ 14 ]. Therefore, gambling-related suicide may be a concern among youths in the East Africa region.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Uganda, evidence suggests that problem gambling is associated with mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and suicidality [ 13 ]. Another study in Uganda reported 21 cases of suicide among university students, five of which were gambling-related [ 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies on gambling-related suicide in EAC countries are few, and there is no suicide database in these countries [ 15 ]. Therefore, the present study adopts a similar approach used by many researchers in other countries without suicide databases by utilizing media reports to investigate gambling-related suicide in EAC countries [ 14 , 16 – 19 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2022

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Background Gambling 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. Methods As 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. Results The 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). Conclusions Based 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.

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“…University education is an intrinsically demanding time in many students’ lives[ 4 – 6 ]. There are several demands on a student’s time including course work, relationships, examinations, part-time work, internship, pressure from parents and guardians, and practical/ward work for medical students [ 5 , 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of burnout among university students in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

et al. 2021

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Background Burnout is common among university students and may adversely affect academic performance. Little is known about the true burden of this preventable malady among university students in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Objectives This study aimed to systematically estimate the prevalence of burnout among university students in LMICs. Methods We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, CINAHL, Web of Science, African Journals Online, and Embase from the inception of each database until February 2021. Original studies were included. No study design or language restrictions were applied. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed using STATA version 16.0. Heterogeneity and publication bias were assessed using Q-statistics and funnel plots, respectively. Results Fifty-five unique articles, including a total of 27,940 (Female: 16,215, 58.0%) university students from 24 LMICs were included. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used in 43 studies (78.2%). The pooled prevalence of burnout was 12.1% (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 11.9–12.3; I2 = 99.7%, Q = 21,464.1, p = < 0.001). The pooled prevalence of emotional exhaustion (feelings of energy depletion), cynicism (negativism), and reduced professional efficacy were, 27.8% (95% CI 27.4–28.3; I2 = 98.17%. p = <0.001), 32.6 (95% CI: 32.0–33.1; I2: 99.5%; p = < 0.001), and 29.9% (95% CI: 28.8–30.9; I2: 98.1%; p = < 0.001), respectively. Conclusion Nearly one-third of university students in LMICs experience burnout. More studies are needed to understand the causes of burnout in this key population. There is a need to validate freely available tools for use in these countries.

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Suicide among Ugandan university students: evidence from media reports for 2010–2020

Cited by 30 publications

References 13 publications

Suicidality in Bangladeshi Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Behavioral Factors, COVID-19 Risk and Fear, and Mental Health Problems

Suicidality in Bangladeshi Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Behavioral Factors, COVID-19 Risk and Fear, and Mental Health Problems

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

Prevalence of burnout among university students in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

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