Cancer Awareness in Malawi: A Comprehensive Analysis of News Coverage on Mass Media

Abstract

Cancer has become one of the major public health problems in Malawi and its incidence is increasing at an alarming rate. Mass media plays an essential role in influencing the public’s awareness and perception of cancer. The present study analyzed cancer related news articles in two leading weekend newspapers: “The Nation” and “Malawi News” published in 2019, and health programs from two radio stations: “Malawi Broadcasting Cooperation” (radio 1) and “Zodiac”, and two Television stations from the same media companies. Out of 106 newspapers reviewed, only 38 (36%) had cancer-related articles. Content analysis of news articles revealed that focus was on breast cancer with 8 (53%) articles. Kaposi sarcoma, cervical and oesophagus cancers, which have the highest morbidity in Malawi, were under-reported; with 1 (6.6%), 1 (6.6%) and 0 (0%) articles respectively. In addition, prevention was the most frequently mentioned theme with treatment, early detection, signs and symptoms, and risk factors mentioned only rarely. Except during awareness month of breast cancer, where a program was aired once on radio and TV stations, there were no specific programs set aside for cancer in their health programs. The findings suggest that apart from breast cancer, which appears to be influenced by its awareness month, media coverage of cancer appears under-represented. Possible implications of the results and recommendations for future research are presented.