Newspaper Coverage of Healthcare: A Content Analysis of English and Hindi Dailies in Gurugram, India

Abstract

Aim: Health is a critical component of an individual’s existence. In recent years, there has been an increased recognition of its severity. It has been steadily accepted that individuals with higher health information are better capable of making informed decisions regarding their health. The media has established a precedent in its reporting of COVID-19. The unique nature of the situation has played a vital role in persuading individuals to confront and address the pandemic. Nevertheless, some diseases are widespread and considerably harm the population. However, multiple studies have repeatedly demonstrated that individuals have a significant deficit in their capacity to manage this issue efficiently. Media, particularly newspapers, can fulfill a critical duty in distributing information regarding numerous health concerns to the larger population.Methods: The paper conducted a content analysis of healthcare-related news published in four dailies, namely ‘Times of India,’ ‘Hindustan Times’, ‘Dainik Jagran’ and ‘Navbharat Times’. Five hundred seven (507) news reports on health were collected and analyzed by subscribing to these four papers over six months, from August 2022 to January 2023.Results: The coders recognized eleven categories for news report categorization: awareness campaign, disease prevention, disease diagnosis, disease outbreak, disease symptoms, disease treatment, COVID-related news, death update, vaccine update, expert views and government health scheme. Under this, COVID-related news, including the case upload, was 29.39%, whereas prevention was 1.78%, diagnosis was 1.97%, and treatment was 4.93%.Conclusion: The research would provide insights into national daily trends in reporting on healthcare issues. The extent of coverage has become restricted. Furthermore, there is a persistent focus on updates of COVID-19, while other health concerns are not adequately prioritized.