Inconsistent Journalism: The Coverage of Chronic Diseases in the Mexican Press

The mass media are recognized by many social scientists as important sources of medical information for lay people and as a positive influence on those working in the health care professions. However, there is a lack of study about print and mass media reporting on major health problems in developing countries such as Mexico. This article presents the findings of a study conducted to identify specific messages that the Mexican print media convey to the general reader about chronic diseases, especially one of the most important and pervasive, diabetes. We undertook a comprehensive review and content analysis of secondary source media reporting in the Boletin (Bulletin) - published by the Department of Education and Health, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Xochimilco. The Boletin summarizes all articles related to health matters published in 12 national daily newspapers and 3 magazines. Our study covered all issues of the Boletin from 1992 through 1996. Our findings indicate that at times the press and popular print media disseminate an incomplete and often biased picture of chronic diseases prevalent in Mexico. Specifically, the press gives equal or more important coverage of acute diseases, or to AIDS, than to other major chronic conditions. The press also reproduces the biomedical model of disease and does not address topics important to certain segments of the population, including the patient. Moreover, the media may present an overly idealized impression of the capability of health services. Consequently, this failure to address the issues of certain widespread, chronic illnesses is severe enough to ask about the role of the press in medical health care reform. We conclude by suggesting areas for further research.     

自杀危险性评定量表的初步编制

目的编制一个适用于临床个体和一般群体的自杀危险性评定量表(SRRS)。方法在借鉴国内外相关测量工具和参考文献的基础上,依据一定的理论构想筛选和增加有关项目,初步形成自杀危险性评定量表,并在457名大学生和62名临床抑郁症患者中进行测试。结果量表的内部一致性系数为0.77,P﹤0.01;分半信度为0.66,P﹤0.01;重测信度为0.75,P﹤0.01;通过探索性因子分析(特征值﹥1,正交旋转)提取4个因子,分别命名为负性情绪、认知僵化、自杀态度和自杀动机,4个因子的累计方差贡献率为71.98%,所有项目的因子载荷均在0.3以上;效标关联效度理想。结论自杀危险性评定量表具有较好的信效度,可以作为临床个体和一般群体自杀风险评估的测量工具。     

Nationwide Newspaper Coverage of Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Community Structure Approach

Using a community structure approach linking city characteristics and variations in media coverage, the authors examined newspaper coverage of physician-assisted suicide. A nationwide sample of 15 city newspapers yielded 288 articles in a four year period. Content analysis of article “prominence” (placement, headline size, story length, presence of photos) and overall article direction (favorable, unfavorable, or balanced/neutral) yielded a combined and widely varied single score “Media Vector” or measure of issue “projection” for each newspaper. Correlation and factor analysis yielded two significant city characteristic factors: a “stakeholder” factor, age (percent over 75) associated with unfavorable coverage of physician-assisted suicide (r = ? .491; p = 000); and an “access” factor—combining media access (newspaper circulation, cable stations, FM or AM stations) and health care access (health care facilities, physicians)—linked to favorable coverage (r = .472; p = .000), combining to account for 46.3 percent of the variance. Western US newspapers and public opinion are most favorable to physician-assisted suicide.     

A Comparative Analysis of European Press Coverage of Children and the Internet

This article reports a content analysis of press coverage of children and the Internet in order to examine cross-cultural similarities and differences in the news values framing accounts of the benefits from and risks facing children online. By comparing media reporting in 14 European countries, the study found greater coverage of online risks than opportunities across Europe, which appears to be due to the high position of crime stories on the news agenda. Thus readers, including parents, are exposed to media representations that often show the online world as being risky for children, which may affect perceptions of the prevalence of risk. However, there is national variation in terms of which risks receive more press attention, meaning that parents in different countries are potentially sensitised to different risks.     

Frequencies and demographic determinants of breastfeeding and DHA supplementation in a nationwide sample of mothers in Germany

Purpose

German guidelines recommend breast milk as ideal for infant’s nutrition, supporting exclusive breastfeeding for at least 4 months. Moreover, in mothers with insufficient fish intake, DHA status may be improved by supplementation during pregnancy and lactation. However, little is known on current rates of breastfeeding and DHA supplementation in Germany. The objective of this study was to analyse frequencies and demographic determinants of breastfeeding and DHA supplementation in Germany.

Methods

Data derived from a nationwide consumer survey of 986 mothers with children between 5 and 36 months of age in Germany.

Results

78.3 % reported that they ever breastfed their children, and 55.6 % of the mothers exclusively breastfed for at least 4 months. Mothers who did not breastfeed were less likely to be informed by their paediatrician or midwife and were more often not informed at all; 27.8 % of mothers used DHA supplements during pregnancy, 16.8 % postnatal. DHA supplementation was more common in women with a high versus a low fish intake. The social status was the major determinant of breastfeeding initiation and exclusivity and also DHA supplementation.

Conclusion

Breastfeeding initiation and duration of exclusive breastfeeding in Germany need to be improved. Professional counselling and support, with a focus on mothers from lower social classes, appears necessary to increase current rates of breastfeeding initiation, duration, and exclusiveness, but also to ensure a sufficient supply with DHA in pregnant and lactating women, particularly in women with low fish consumption.     

U.S. Tabloid Magazine Coverage of a Celebrity Dating Abuse Incident: Rihanna and Chris Brown

Dating abuse is a prevalent adolescent health problem with substantial public health consequences. As many as 1 in 10 high school students in the United States reports being “hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose” by his or her boyfriend or girlfriend in the past year. The authors used the Rihanna–Chris Brown dating abuse incident of 2009 as a case study to conduct what is, to our knowledge, the first assessment of media framing of dating abuse. The authors reviewed the 20 leading U.S. single-copy sales magazines published from February to April 2009 and identified 48 relevant articles, which were all printed in 7 tabloid magazines. The authors conducted a content analysis of the media frames of the articles using 5 frame categories: (a) abuse is objectionable, (b) victim-blaming, (c) abuse is sexualized/romanticized, (d) myths about abuse perpetration, and (e) abuse is normalized. Abuse is objectionable was the dominant frame of 40% of articles, victim-blaming in 36%. Although the majority of articles reviewed (83%) made at least passing reference to the idea that abuse is wrong, a minority (40%) used a dominant frame that condemned abuse. Instead, the majority of articles communicated mixed messages about dating abuse, and many minimized the seriousness of partner abuse perpetration. Advocacy is needed to improve future tabloid media framing of dating abuse incidents.     

Nutrition Coverage in Medical Licensing Examinations in Germany: An Analysis of Six Nationwide Exams

The state of nutrition education in medicine is inadequate, with nutrition-related topics being poorly integrated into lectures. Most medical students receive only a few contact hours of nutrition instruction during their entire time at medical school. Identifying potential barriers that may explain the paucity of nutritional knowledge in medical students is thus of paramount importance. The extent of nutrition coverage in the second part of Germany’s nationwide medical licensing exam is currently unknown. We addressed this issue and assessed nutrition content, as well as students’ scores, in this pivotal test prior to their graduation. We performed a post hoc analysis of six nationwide medical licensing examinations (2018–2020) undertaken by 29,849 medical students and screened 1920 multiple-choice questions for nutrition-related content. Nutrition-related questions accounted for a minority of the questions (2.1%, n = 40/1920). A considerable number of the questions (n = 19) included only a single nutrition-related answer option that was frequently incorrect and served as a distractor. About 0.5% of questions were entirely nutrition related. Despite undeniable barriers, the inclusion of additional nutrition-related examination questions could serve as an incentive to engage students and medical schools in enhancing medical nutrition education. The recently published competence-oriented learning objective catalog in Germany could play a pivotal role in this context, leading to better recognition of nutrition-related topics in medical education.     

The Development and Feasibility Outcomes of a Youth Suicide Prevention Intensive Outpatient Program

Objective

Suicide is a leading cause of death in adolescents worldwide. There is an absence of effective and low cost treatment strategies for this growing public health problem. Current practice consists of brief hospitalization of acutely suicidal youth, but many get inadequate follow-up treatment. There are few alternatives to individual outpatient services offered at too low an intensity for an acutely distressed population. This paper describes the development, feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary clinical outcomes of an intensive outpatient program (IOP) for suicidal adolescents over a two-year period.

Outrage Factors in Government Press Releases of Food Risk and Their Influence on News Media Coverage

An appropriate level of risk perception should be a critical issue in modern “risk society.” There have been many studies on the influences on risk perception. This study investigates whether risk communication scholar Dr. Peter Sandman's outrage factors intensify journalistic attention to health risks from food consumption. A content analysis of a health institution's press releases was conducted to examine 15 outrage factors of food risks conveyed in the governmental risk communication. In addition, the news stories covering the food risks informed by the press releases were calculated to evaluate the relation between outrage factors of a risk and the number of news stories covering the risk. Results showed that controllability was the most salient outrage factor, followed by trust, voluntariness, familiarity, and human origin; the greater the outrage score of a risk, the more news stories of the risk. For individual outrage factors, a risk with an implication of catastrophic potential was associated with an increase of news stories. Food providers’ distrustful behaviors also influenced journalistic attention to the food risks. The implication of the findings to health message designers is discussed.     

The Dimensions and Dynamics of Suicide

The purpose of the studies was to determine if three widely used drugs could significantly enhance the effects of trichloroethylene (Trilene) on visual-motor performance. Thonzylamine hydrochloride (Anahist), 50 mg; meprobamate (Equanil), 800 mg; or a lactose placebo was given to each of eight subjects. In a second group, each of six subjects drank alcohol, 35 ml/70 kg of body weight, or a placebo over a 20-minute period starting just at the end of the first test series. In both parts of the study, trichloroethylene was administered for two hours at concentrations of 0, 300, or 1,000 ppm. Compared to trichloroethylene and placebo, the addition of thonzylamine or meprobamate did not significantly alter performance on any test. Low blood levels of alcohol (20 to 30 mg per 100 ml) markedly augmented the adverse effects (P < 0.05) of trichloroethylene on performance of three of the tests.     

全民健康覆盖的内涵及我国推进全民健康覆盖的策略选择

世界卫生组织提出全民健康覆盖的内涵在于全社会每个人公平的享有其应享有的服务,重点关注的是服务的利用及风险保护。全民医保不是全民健康覆盖,我国当前全民覆盖的医疗保障体系只是实现全民健康覆盖的制度工具,以促进居民卫生服务的利用,不能保障每一位居民都能利用到其应享有的服务,解决居民服务利用的公平性问题。全民健康覆盖中的健康服务还包括公共卫生服务、健康促进等。我国全民健康覆盖的发展应依托现有的基本医疗保障体系,在促进服务利用的同时关注弱势群体的服务利用,正确评估改革,重点关注服务利用的困难群体。     

The Challenge of Suicide Prevention

Suicide is a global phenomenon. It is estimated that 0.5–1.2 million people worldwide die by suicide each year. Taking into account the global epidemiologic data concerning suicide and the economic impact of this phenomenon on diverse societies, this review aims to examine national suicide prevention strategies. Recognition of suicide as an international public health problem, increased reporting by countries on suicide rates to the WHO, and recognition of the costs (associated with suicide) to society have been crucial influences on the establishment of national strategies. Past reviews on national suicide prevention strategies highlight the fact that those countries with established national strategies share a number of themes relating to intervention. These are grounded in international guidance on suicide prevention and accepted epidemiologic and treatment-based research. This paper highlights comparative rates of suicide around the world, explores the economic implications of suicide and the nature of specific established national strategies for prevention. This paper highlights the urgency for the development of national suicide prevention strategies in all countries. Clearly, countries can learn from each other and integrate established, shared themes. It is argued that nations need to move towards nation-specified prevention strategies with effective structures for research, monitoring, and evaluation. This has been seen in countries such as Finland and New Zealand, where strategies have been effective in building inter-agency working and so benefiting different stake-holders.     

自杀的生物性解释

本文总结了关于自杀的生物学基础的研究现状。研究表明自杀具有生物基础,如自杀的双生子、家系研究及寄养子研究等遗传学研究均证实自杀具有基因上的基础,且这种因素独立于精神疾病的遗传;目前研究估计基因对自杀的影响在30%～50%之间,自杀可能是经由冲动-攻击特质的遗传而得到传递的;遗传学的研究并未完全确定自杀的基因,但锁定了一些候选基因。对自杀基因起源的进化解释存在分歧,对其理论进行支持的研究力度有限,在这一领域还未有直接性的证据表明自杀具有进化的基础,计算机模拟是检验这一理论的有力工具。     

自杀的生物性解释

本文总结了关于自杀的生物学基础的研究现状。研究表明自杀具有生物基础,如自杀的双生子、家系研究及寄养子研究等遗传学研究均证实自杀具有基因上的基础,且这种因素独立于精神疾病的遗传;目前研究估计基因对自杀的影响在30％～50％之间,自杀可能是经由冲动-攻击特质的遗传而得到传递的;遗传学的研究并未完全确定自杀的基因,但锁定了一些候选基因。对自杀基因起源的进化解释存在分歧,对其理论进行支持的研究力度有限,在这一领域还未有直接性的证据表明自杀具有进化的基础,计算机模拟是检验这一理论的有力工具。     

德国生活垃圾处理技术发展

介绍了德国生活垃圾填埋技术的发展历程,以及近年来发展应用的垃圾热处理技术、机械生物处理技术和干燥稳定技术。