Coverage Of Health Issues Research Articles

How media empower the vulnerable: Using community structure theory to analyze relationships between demographics and health reporting

Instead of studying the impact of media on society, the traditional “top down” orientation of most communication studies scholars, this keynote presentation adopted the opposite perspective, exploring the “bottom-up” impact of “society” on “media”. Unlike conventional “agenda-setting theory”, which suggests that nationally prominent news media set issue “agendas” for other news media and public opinion, and also unlike the “guard dog” view that media essentially protect the interests of political and economic elites, the “community structure theory” explores links between different community (typically city or nation-state) demographics and variations in reporting on critical health concerns. Summarizing his scholarship on health communication presented and published over decades, the speaker outlined community structure theory’s illumination of two overall patterns in US and cross-national coverage of health communication issues. In US coverage, broad measures of economically “buffered” privilege (educational, income, or occupational advantage) are linked to “favorable” or “government responsibility” coverage of health issues, and specific measures of “health” privilege (physicians, hospitals) are connected to “favorable” or “government responsibility” coverage promoting selected health issues. In cross-national coverage, specific measures of national “health vulnerability” (such as percent without improved water access, infant mortality rate) are linked to “government” responsibility coverage for selected health issues (human trafficking, water handling/contamination). In addition, broad measures of “macro” vulnerability conditions (agricultural dependence, political instability) are associated with “government” responsibility coverage for a wide range of health issues (genetically modified foods, drug trafficking, condom promotion, and food security). Overall, community structure theory’s “bottom up” perspective reveals how the vulnerable are empowered by their demographic alignment with variations in health communication.

Meningococcal disease in Italy: public concern, media coverage and policy change

BackgroundBetween 2015 and 2017 six deaths due to meningitis in the Lombardy Region, Northern Italy, caught the attention of media and increased concern among the population, with a consequent increase in demand for vaccination. Considering the evidence about the impact of media coverage of health issues on public behaviour, this paper investigates the trend of media coverage and internet searches regarding meningitis in the Lombardy Region.MethodsContent analysis of online articles published from January 2015 to May 2017 and analysis of Google Trends were carried out. A codebook was created in order to assess the content of each article analysed, based on six areas: article characteristics, information about meningococcal disease and vaccination, Local Health Authority activities, accuracy of information and tone of the message.ResultsBoth public interest and media attention peaked in December 2016 and January 2017, when the Lombardy Regional Authority changed its policy by offering co-payment to adults with a saving of 50%. The frequency of meningitis coverage decreased after the announcement of policy change. For example, articles containing new information on meningitis or meningococcal vaccine (76 to 48%, p = 0.01) and preventive recommendations (31% down to 10%, p = 0.006) decreased significantly. An alarmist tone appeared in 21% of pre-policy articles that decreased to 5% post-policy (p = 0.03).ConclusionsThe findings suggest a role for the media in fostering public pressure towards health services and policy-makers. A collaboration between Public Health institutions and the media would be beneficial in order to improve communication with the public.

Coverage of health news in regional and national dailies in India

It is mass media which transmits most ofthe health promotional strategies to the general public. Mass media plays a crucial role in planning. implementing and evaluating public health care. Coverage of health issues in mass media inform, influence and determine the health seeking behaviour ofan individual. Mass media focus on patterns ofhealth seeking behaviours and also disparities. Though bringing awareness about the health care programmes of the government, media helps to improve health status ofthe country. Health campaigns can use media as an advocacy tool to achieve policy level change. Arguments were also going on about the role ofmass media in promoting public health in the developing country like India. Public health communication is confined to publicity ofgovernment campaigns, inauguration ofprogrammes and donations given by the ministers. Media has failed to give sustainable attention to public health issues which is in decay due to lack of infrastructure. This study has been undertaken inorder to examine the role of media in health reporting. This study tries to compare the coverage of health news in national and regional/language press. This paper tries to find out the amount ofcoverage given to different health news in regional and national newspaper. The Hindu and Prajavan (Kannada) has been taken for the study. Content categories were made and operational definitions have been provided. Newspapers ofone-month period were selected for the study. total 60 issues have been studied. This study has been undertaken inrader to study the amount ofcoverage given to health news by the press, importance given to health issues by national and regional newspapers has been compared.

Health in the news: an analysis of magazines coverage of health issues in veterans and military service organizations.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a content analysis of Veterans and Military Service Organizations (VMSOs) magazines to determine what health-related topics VMSOs target and how they inform their constituencies about health issues. Health-related topics in 288 VMSOs' magazines from 21 VMSOs published in 2011 and 2012 were coded by trained raters using a standardized manual. The top three most addressed health topics were Health Services (Health care, Insurance), Disability and Disability benefits, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Topics least frequently covered were Tobacco and Smoking cessation, Illegal drugs, Alcohol, Gulf War Syndrome, and Weight and Body composition. VMSOs are concerned about the health and well-being of their members given the considerable amount of content devoted to certain health topics such as health insurance concerns, disability, and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, other health concerns that affect a considerable number of both current military personnel and veterans and cost both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense millions annually, such as drug and alcohol problems, and tobacco use and smoking cessation, are infrequently covered. The results of this study improve our understanding of the health-related information that reaches the military and veteran populations through this important media outlet.

Potential Barriers to Mass Media Coverage of Health Issues: Differences Between Public Information Officers and Journalists Regarding Beliefs Central to Professional Behaviors

This study sought to discover differences in beliefs between public information officers (PIOs) and mass media journalists regarding health coverage. In Internet surveys of 2 randomly selected samples of PIO and journalist members of the National Association of Science Writers, respondents (N = 190) indicated levels of agreement/disagreement with 19 belief statements concerning professional practices and mass media coverage of science, health, and technology issues. Statistically significant differences were found between the 2 groups on 10 statements. These differences may help to explain—and to resolve—disparities and disconnects between the 2 regarding agenda-setting and perceived relative importance of health-related issues.

Health Content in Chinese Newspapers

Newspapers are one of the most important sources of health information for the public in China, yet little is known about the coverage of health issues in Chinese newspapers. Using the theories of agenda setting and framing, we explored research questions such as what health-related topics were covered and how they were covered in Chinese newspapers. This study used a sample of two constructed weeks in 2007 of one national and five leading local newspapers of the five most populated cities in China: 558 health-related articles were identified. It was found that certain diseases and risk factors were underreported as compared with their actual morbidity and mortality rates in China. Most of the health reporting was framed in a non-negative frame. It was also found that causes and preventions of diseases were more likely to be attributed to the individual than to the society. As one of the first comprehensive content analyses on the coverage of health-related issues in China, this study provides health care professionals and policymakers a broad picture of health information available to the public in Chinese newspapers.

Surveying the portrayal of mental illness across a jurisdiction: Is more than one method appropriate?

The media have an important influence on the public’s perception of health. Coverage can lead to positive consequences, such as greater awareness of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or adverse consequences, such as reduced uptake of immunization. Studies usually suggest that the media’s depiction of mental illness is negative, inaccurate and unhelpful. This is unfortunate as media portrayal may have an important influence on community attitudes towards mental health issues. However, not all results have been negative. Two recent studies of non-fiction media found that the vast majority of items were of good quality, with the only failing being the absence of information on appropriate services. There have been a number of approaches to assessing media coverage of health issues. It can be done by researchers themselves, but this is difficult when covering more than one or two print titles. Media-retrieval agencies are therefore commonly used to improve representativeness of the samples. Other methodological problems include the retrospective collection of data and the absence of standardized instruments with explicit criteria. Previously, the author assessed media coverage of mental health by asking patients with psychiatric

Did News Reporters Get It Right?: Translation of the 2002 Hormone Study Findings

The news media play a critical role in communicating health information to the public. The unexpected findings in July 2002 about increased health risks associated with hormone therapy provided an opportunity to examine the process of translating scientific findings to reporters through communication intermediaries and appraise subsequent reporting in newspapers in the United States. Using qualitative research software, a qualitative analysis was conducted in 2006 to consider four types of messages: (1) hormone therapy health risks outweighed benefits (balance); (2) adverse hormone therapy health outcomes (health risk); (3) positive hormone therapy health outcomes (benefit); and (4) risk level (magnitude). The print materials analyzed included the original 2002 Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) article and editorial; JAMA and National Institutes of Health (NIH) press releases; the NIH press conference transcript; and 198 articles about hormone therapy in 22 U.S. newspapers published from July to September 2002. The major study finding that hormone therapy risks outweighed benefits was reported consistently and accurately. Analyses of language and numbers on risk magnitude, and its interpretation revealed some variability, both within the translation materials and news stories. When risk numbers were included in newspaper stories, absolute risk was used more often than relative risk. Despite much criticism of journalists' coverage of health issues, U.S. newspaper reporting about hormone therapy in 2002 was generally consistent. Several translational and communication strategies used with hormone therapy may be applicable to other efforts that involve working with reporters on major health stories or events. An important process oversight was the absence of hormone therapy communication efforts and guidance directed specifically to medical practitioners.

Health Content in Local Television News

Local television news is an important source of health information for the public. Yet little is known about coverage of health issues on local television newscasts. This study examined 1,863 news stories that aired on 4 English-language channels and 1 Spanish channel in 7 U.S. markets during a composite week in 2000. About 10% of news stories focused on health topics. Specific illnesses/diseases and healthy living issues received the most frequent coverage. Health news stories generally were less than 1 min long. Most health news stories were neutral in tone. Few offered contrasting viewpoints or follow-up information. Many stories were likely to require a 10th grade education to be understood. Implications for health professionals, policy makers, and health communication researchers are discussed.

An assessment of the feasibility of health authorities generating unpaid mass media publicity in the long term

Generating unpaid mass media coverage has been shown to be the most cost-effective method of reducing smoking prevalence. This study looks at the feasibility of generating such unpaid coverage over a prolonged period. Press releases, letters for publication and articles on tobacco-related items Were sent to the local media by an initiative co-ordinated by a health authority cancer-prevention project. Between April 1990 and March 1992, this generated at least 1120 column-inches in the local and national press (81 per cent of the press coverage of tobacco by the three main Oxford papers). More coverage, was generated for policy matters (635 column- inches) than for items relating to knowledge or individual behaviour (485 column-inches). Half the press releases were used by the radio stations and all were published. This assessment concluded that it is feasible to initiate good coverage of health issues and to sustain this over a two-year period.

Health information provision in men and women's magazines

The purpose of this research was to investigate the nature of the coverage of health issues in magazines, and specifically to compare the coverage in men's and women's magazines Content analysis was used to examine the health information in the six upmarket magazines (Cosmopolitan, Elle, Esquire, GQ, Marie‐Claire, and Maxim) selected for the study, with a wide range of criteria used to analyse the health information contained in them. Interviews with four of the health editors from the sample were conducted in order to elucidate some of the main findings. Unexpectedly, the differences in health information coverage are greater between the individual magazines than between the total women's and men's groups. Overall, men's magazines appear to treat health information in a more informative manner than women's, although both groups provide unusually high levels of information required to change their readers health behaviour. With this level of information provision it is noteworthy that many of these magazines have no clear health information policy, and that their editors have no qualifications or training in either health or science.