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BackgroundeditRecently, the British Medical Journal published a systematic review[1] on the association between suicide reporting in the media and suicide with a shocking conclusion that reporting of deaths of celebrities by suicide increases the number of suicides by 8-18% in the next 1-2 months, and information on the method of suicide was associated with an increase of 18-44% in the risk of suicide by the same method. There are examples from India as well - followed by the recent suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput's, three young fans ended their lives in the same manner[2][3] . Press release by Bristol University adds that people can now read a news story about what was the method of suicide, and then learn how to use that method from sites such as Wikipedia[4]. It is highly troublesome that media plays such a strong role in suicidal behavior.  This brings into focus an even more generic topic - mental health. The problem is not only with people reading about suicides committed by celebrities but there are also severe mental issues beneath that push them to the final step. Very often mental issues are treated as tabu and people, rather than seeking professional help, look for answers on the internet especially for disadvantaged populations in rural areas. Wikipedia is one of the most read resources and providing adequate and validated information about mental health can be considered as “an essential part of suicide prevention strategy” what authors of MBJ article suggest.  As a rapid response, we call all Wikipedians for action to create mental health-related articles in ten Indian languages under SWASTHA (Special Wikipedia Awareness Scheme for The Healthcare Affiliates) project that promotes healthcare awareness amongst local Indian communities with the help of existing healthcare affiliates. We ask you to start with the acute topic of Mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_health_during_the_COVID-19_pandemic). Following we would focus on creating content for such topics as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. which are adjusted for the Indian context. More information could be found in SWASTHA Mental Health Awareness Campaign page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SWASTHA/Mental_Health_Awareness_Campaign Who can ParticipateeditAnyone who wishes to improve Mental Health related articles in Indic Languages. How to ParticipateeditWe have prepared a list of articles to be improved in various Indic Languages. We are focusing on the following articles:
List of focus ArticleseditPhase I : Hindi Articles to improveeditUrdu Articles to improveeditKannada Articles to improveeditThere is an event page in Kannada Wikipedia regarding this online editathon. The link is here.
Phase II: Odia articles done and to improveedit
Referencesedit
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