Whether you¡¯re a student working on a project or just someone researching about things you¡¯re curious about, the one place that we all visit is Wikipedia.?
The sheer amount of content the platform has to offer, (that too for free) is nothing short of amazing -- From engineering to history to politics, it has it all.?
Another topic of articles that many people read on Wikipedia is mental health. Whether it¡¯s about anxiety or depression, people are curious to learn more about the issues, whether they¡¯re experiencing them and how they can help gain control over it.?
However, amidst these include people who want to learn more about it, but don¡¯t understand English and prefer reading in their mother tongue or regional language. For such people, a group of experts have teamed up with the Wikipedia community to bridge this gap.
The initiative is called Project SWASTHA (an acronym for Special Wikipedia Awareness Scheme for The Healthcare Affiliates). The need for this arose after they noticed a sudden spike in online traffic on Wikipedia¡¯s suicide articles over the past two weeks.
In India, the traffic to Wikipedia's suicide pages spiked 200 percent after the demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput on June 14, 2020. In a matter of days, three fans ended their lives after being unable to bear the pain of his loss.? ?
This is similar to what was highlighted in a recent study in British Medical Journal revealed an association with suicide reporting by the media resulting in a rise of suicide cases by 8-18 percent in the following two months. The study also highlighted that 18-44 percent committed suicide with the same method as the celebrity.?
This is a call for help, a call for talking and learning about mental health.?
However, sadly. most content online is in English, based on studies and research conducted in western nations -- involving some elements people of India don¡¯t really understand or can relate with. India is also one of the nations that have a severe lack of understanding about mental health issues, especially in rural areas.
Abhishek Suryawanshi, Director, Wikipedia SWASTHA said in a statement, "A recent Google KPMG survey indicates that 9 out of 10 people trust information conveyed in their local languages. Recent media reports about suicide prompted debates on mental health challenges, while traffic to articles on methods of suicide increased multi-fold.¡±
He added, ¡°We hope that through wider access to credible information in Indic languages, individuals might understand their own condition and challenges better and learn to seek counsel rather than take drastic measures leading to suicide.¡±
SWASTHA is working to create content on mental health in languages like Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Urdu and other Indic languages about mental health and depression. Some articles have already been listed on the Wikipedia SWASTHA page.?