Norwegian health journalists’ ability to report on health research: A concern to science education?

Abstract

Newspaper reports of the recent health science research might be important in health promotion and for the readers’ achievement of health literacy. However, such reports are often scientifically deficient and inaccurate. Through the use of a questionnaire and in-depth interviews, Norwegian newspaper health journalists were asked about their educational background, reporting ability and improvement needs, what their sources of health news normally are, and what counts as news – and why. The results showed that none of the health journalist questionnaire respondents (N = 20) had any qualification in the health or biological sciences. Most journalists expressed restricted knowledge of statistics and of the discourse of science, and many journalists stated a need for the improvement of their critical evaluation skills of health claims. The two journalist interview informants expressed that commercial communication bureaus were increasingly applied as sources of health research reports, and the selected health news must contribute to sales-success for the newspapers. To critically select and evaluate the health news from the various sources, health journalists in Norway probably need to improve their knowledge of biological science and statistics, as well as their critical thinking skills and critical health literacy. It is argued that in these improvement approaches, the journalists reporting on health might benefit from learning about the “nature of science.” Results are discussed in a science education perspective.