دورية أكاديمية

Case Report: A gambling-related suicide in rural Malawi [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
العنوان: Case Report: A gambling-related suicide in rural Malawi [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]
المؤلفون: Junious Mabo Sichali, Albert Dube, Lackson Kachiwanda, Heather Wardle, Amelia C Crampin, Christopher Bunn
المصدر: Wellcome Open Research, Vol 6 (2021)
بيانات النشر: Wellcome, 2021.
سنة النشر: 2021
المجموعة: LCC:Medicine
LCC:Science
مصطلحات موضوعية: Medicine, Science
الوصف: Background As in many other countries across sub-Saharan Africa, Malawi’s commercial gambling sector has grown considerably in recent years. Driven by the widespread availability of internet through mobile devices, the industry has penetrated both urban and rural settings. In Malawi the model commonly implemented by gambling companies is similar to that used by mobile phone operators. Agents equipped with cellular devices connect to providers’ servers to place wagers for customers and print receipts using simple printers attached to their devices. This has produced lucrative returns for providers. While increasing attention is being paid to this trend, most research focusses on sports betting and there is a deficit of papers that document gambling-related harms. Methods Here we present a narrative case report of a 16-year-old boy, ‘Wati’ (pseudonym), who lived in rural Malawi and took his own life after gambling and losing money that did not belong to him. As his community is part of a demographic surveillance site, a verbal autopsy was conducted, later supplemented with interviews with Wati’s close friend and uncle, to whom his mother referred us. We triangulated data from these three sources to create a narrative case report of Wati’s suicide and its relationship to his gambling practices. Results We found that the gambling harms leading up to Wati’s suicide were recurrent, that his gambling practices were diverse (lottery, football betting, digital games and cards) and that signs of distress were apparent before his suicide. Conclusions From this case report, we learn that underage individuals participate in gambling in Malawi, can develop harmful habits and that their gambling is not confined to sports betting. We also learn that there is a lack of accessible services for people who develop harmful gambling practices. Wati could have benefited from such services and they may have saved his life.
نوع الوثيقة: article
وصف الملف: electronic resource
اللغة: English
تدمد: 2398-502X
Relation: https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/6-308/v1; https://doaj.org/toc/2398-502X
DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.17333.1
URL الوصول: https://doaj.org/article/cc4835c219e044b98db171fe364070a8
رقم الأكسشن: edsdoj.4835c219e044b98db171fe364070a8
قاعدة البيانات: Directory of Open Access Journals
الوصف
تدمد:2398502X
DOI:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.17333.1