Health Content Analysis of Organ Donation and Transplantation News on Turkish Television Channels and in Turkish Print Media

Abstract

The media affects individuals' behaviors, especially by means of news and advertisements. In this study, we evaluated health content of organ donation and transplantation news in the printed media and on television programs for a 1-year period in Turkey. We examined 2449 news items in 230 newspapers and magazines; 1179 news programs on 45 television channels, all concerning organ donation and transplantation. The news obtained from the Media Pursuit Center were transferred to an electronic file to evaluate the format and content of the news. Nine variables were examined about the scope and the formal characteristics of the news: the publication name, its type, the province, the date, the headline, the title length, the presence of a photograph, or its kind, the news size, and the page number. In the content analysis of the news, we also examined 9 variables: the topic, the message of the headline, the property of the words in the title, the identification of photographs in the news, the age, gender of actors in the news, as well as donor or recipient. In a summary, print media and television channels, failed to show sufficient information about organ donation and transplantation. The percentage of news about organ donation and transplantation was small and mostly negative items in the media. On television channels, sufficient place was not given to organ donation and transplantation. The news in printed media and on television channels was not about motivated or altruistic behavior. The pattern of organ donation and transplantation news is important in terms of perception and comment by the public. Furthermore it directly affects the perception of the news by the reader.