Women's health and the mass media: The reporting of risk

News about women's health risks is prevalent in the mass media, and how that news is presented is important for the women who uses it to make decisions about her health. Conferees at a Jacobs Institute symposium reviewed the presentation and discussion of risk factors in scientific articles and the subsequent translation of this information by the media to their consumers. The symposium participants made four major recommendations to improve the reporting of risk: 1) as information sources, the scientific community, institutions, and media organizations should share the responsibility of clearly presenting information on risk factors affecting women's health, 2) institutional public affairs officers, journal public affairs officers, and mass media editors should require that reports on single studies be placed within the context of current scientific knowledge, with limitations prominently described, 3) measures of absolute and relative risk should be interpretable by a general audience, and 4) news makers (the scientific community) and news writers (reporters and editors) should have more training opportunities to achieve a clearer understanding of the constraints on the news media and the limitations of science.     

News about cancer in the press

BACKGROUND: News on health and health care are increasingly common in the mass media, and cancer is one of the most prominent topic among these news due to its health impact. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All news published in major newspapers in Catalonia, Spain between April to December 1996 were analysed, together with items from science and health supplements general information and science journals. Types of cancer-related topics, sources of information, the importance of cancer in the news item and the theme of the piece were analysed. RESULTS: During the period analysed, 974 news items were published which dealt with cancer. Of these, cancer was the principal topic in 53.5% of the items published in the national press, and 63.4% of the items published in the regional press. Cancer was the subject of an editorial comment on only four occasions. The source of information was mentioned in 64.8% of the items, and mean number of sources was 1.6. Political institutions were the most frequent source of information in newspapers, while science and health supplements and other magazines tended to cite scientific and health care institutions, as well as scientific journals. Basic research was the most common topic for news (30.3%) in science and health supplements while risk and environmental factors (29.6%) were the most common topics in magazines; environmental and technological risk factors (18,6%) and conflicts with health administrative bodies (16%) were the most frequent topics in the newspapers. CONCLUSION: News about risk factors and their prevention as well as technological and environmental factors related to cancer were among the most important topics published in the general press and magazines, together with conflicts with administrative bodies. Informations related to new therapies were a less frequent topic. Scientific journals have an important role as an information source for mass media together with political and scientific institutions.     

Injury reporting on local TV news: a prime-time opportunity for prevention.

BACKGROUND: Local television news is America's primary source of information and may be an opportunity to shape public opinion surrounding issues such as injury prevention. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to systematically evaluate unintentional-injury coverage on local television news and to identify frequently interviewed public-service professionals and factors associated with discussion of risk factors and prevention. METHODS: Late news broadcasts from 122 local television stations within the U.S. during October 2002 were analyzed. The main outcomes variables were counts of case-injury stories: motor-vehicle crashes, fires, falls, drowning, poisonings, and sports-recreational injuries; identification of interviewed public service professionals; and discussion of risk factors and prevention. Bivariate and mulitvariate analysis was performed to identify predictors of discussion of prevention measures, risk factors, or both. Data were analyzed in Fall 2006. RESULTS: From 2795 broadcasts, 1748 case-injury stories were identified. Fires and motor-vehicle crashes constituted 84% of the case-injury stories. There were 245 case-injury stories containing an interview with a public service professional. Police officers and firefighters accounted for 82% of these interviews. Interviews with police officers and firefighters were independently associated with discussion of risk factors and prevention measures for motor-vehicle crashes (OR=2.49, CI=1.7-3.6) and fires (OR=2.77, CI=1.2-5.9), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Motor-vehicle crashes and fires were the most commonly reported injury topics. Police officers and firefighters were most commonly interviewed and, if interviewed, increased the likelihood that risk factors, prevention measures, or both were discussed. Optimizing the messages delivered by public service professionals through public service professional-level and media-level interventions may be an opportunity for disseminating injury-prevention information to the public and to policymakers, and methods to increase the likelihood of media interviews with public service professionals should be explored.     

From Screen to Screening: Entertainment and News Television Media Effects on Cancer Screening Behaviors

The complementary effects of genre-specific media use and information-seeking behaviors on cancer prevention behaviors have been understudied in cancer communication literature. A secondary analysis of the Annenberg National Health Communication Survey (ANHCS) was conducted to investigate the effects of two types of televised media content (i.e., news and entertainment programs) on three types of cancer screening behaviors through active health information seeking behavior (HISB) from other mass media. The results show that routine entertainment and news television viewing significantly predicted HISB above and beyond demographic variables and perceived health status. HISB partially mediated the effects of entertainment and news television viewing on colon cancer and breast cancer screening behaviors (i.e., sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy, mammogram) while fully mediating their effects on prostate cancer screening behavior (PSA). Future advocacy efforts should continue to use mass media like television to raise awareness of various types of cancer and preventative measures. Additionally, more collaborations should be conducted between public health professionals and content creators to design effective health content on promoting cancer prevention behaviors on mass media platforms.     

Strategies of media marketing for "America Responds to AIDS" and applying lessons learned.

The Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) public service announcement (PSA) campaign on acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), entitled "America Responds to AIDS," has provided an opportunity to examine various media marketing techniques and their effectiveness in setting and sustaining a national media agenda for public health. The overall objective was to enlist the media as a partner in the effort to establish a clear national public health agenda on AIDS by reaching as many Americans as possible with disease prevention information in a credible and acceptable way. In order for the media to become interested in a subject traditionally treated as health information rather than a "news story," CDC identified and employed various methods and tools to generate coverage. These included the use of news conferences, video and audio news releases, satellite interviews, and press kits developed for each phase of the campaign. News "hooks" were used to grab attention; for example, the use of well-known public health spokespersons in media events or the promotion of free collateral materials. The marketing approach undertaken for each phase of the campaign varied, and lessons were learned and applied along the way. A model emerged indicating that a combination of techniques could result in maximum exposure in both news stories and public affairs programming. Because the model allowed messages to be delivered credibly and consistently, the result was increased usage of the PSAs to coincide with the media coverage.     

Medical messages in the media – barriers and solutions to improving medical journalism

Context Medical issues are widely reported in the mass media. These reports influence the general public, policy makers and health‐care professionals. This information should be valid, but is often criticized for being speculative, inaccurate and misleading. An understanding of the obstacles medical reporters meet in their work can guide strategies for improving the informative value of medical journalism. Objective To investigate constraints on improving the informative value of medical reports in the mass media and elucidate possible strategies for addressing these. Design We reviewed the literature and organized focus groups, a survey of medical journalists in 37 countries, and semi‐structured telephone interviews. Results We identified nine barriers to improving the informative value of medical journalism: lack of time, space and knowledge; competition for space and audience; difficulties with terminology; problems finding and using sources; problems with editors and commercialism. Lack of time, space and knowledge were the most common obstacles. The importance of different obstacles varied with the type of media and experience. Many health reporters feel that it is difficult to find independent experts willing to assist journalists, and also think that editors need more education in critical appraisal of medical news. Almost all of the respondents agreed that the informative value of their reporting is important. Nearly everyone wanted access to short, reliable and up‐to‐date background information on various topics available on the Internet. A majority (79%) was interested in participating in a trial to evaluate strategies to overcome identified constraints. Conclusion Medical journalists agree that the validity of medical reporting in the mass media is important. A majority acknowledge many constraints. Mutual efforts of health‐care professionals and journalists employing a variety of strategies will be needed to address these constraints.     

A content analysis of news coverage of the HPV vaccine by U.S. newspapers, January 2002-June 2005

Genital Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Of the 100 HPV types, HPV type 16 and HPV type 18 have been demonstrated to cause cervical cancer. Two pharmaceutical manufacturers have developed and tested HPV vaccines and are applying to the FDA for licensure. This research describes the content of HPV vaccine information contained in news articles. The Lexis-Nexis database was used to identify 25 articles on HPV that were published in 285 U.S. newspapers from January 1, 2003 to June 17, 2005. The coding schema captured information about the news event and source, as well as HPV and cervical cancer, transmission, vaccine, potential impact of the vaccine, and its relationship to PAP tests. The content analysis revealed that the news coverage of HPV vaccine provides information on the experimental status and efficacy of the vaccine, explains link between HPV and cervical cancer, and reports the manufacturers by name, as well as relies on them for a news source. Detailed information about HPV, however, was frequently missing which could lead to an incomplete picture or lack of understanding of the complexity of HPV and cervical cancer. As a major source of medical information, the media can be particularly important in educating policy makers and the general public about new scientific advances. Public health officials may wish to collaborate with journalists, health educators, healthcare providers, and women's health advocates to ensure that future educational initiatives explain the complexity of the association of HPV and cervical cancer and to stress the importance of continued cervical cancer screening.     

Dietary supplement use in women: the role of the media

Women and other consumers obtain information on supplements from a variety of sources, including health professionals, but most frequently the media. Although scientific conclusions are methodically scrutinized, news stories are judged by instant appeal. Dietary supplements add a complicating twist because folkloric use predates scientific research by thousands of years. The incongruity between science and the media perpetuates misinformation and fails to provide the context that gives scientific research meaning. The International Food Information Council (IFIC) and the IFIC Foundation(3) seek to bridge the practice and the communication of science. The IFIC Foundation's biannual analysis of food news revealed that in 1999 and 2001, science experts were the primary source of information for articles but context was often absent or incomplete. The media's major obstacle in communicating science is a lack of understanding of the scientific process. It is imperative that emerging science is meaningfully translated for the public. The Harvard School of Public Health and IFIC Foundation convened an advisory group in 1997 to examine the communications process. The result was a set of questions meant to guide the communications process: Will your communication enhance public understanding of diet and health? Have you put the study findings into context? Have the findings been peer reviewed? Have you disclosed the important facts about the study? Have you disclosed all key information about the study's findings? The advisory group agreed that funding sources should be disclosed but that findings ought to stand on their own merit. In addition, guidelines for various specific communicators were created.     

Communicating occupational and environmental issues

Effective health risk communication is an important tool that can prevent or modify the inappropriate public reactions that often accompany occupational and environmental health issues and allegations. The public perception of the magnitude or significance of risk is influenced by factors other than scientific data. The goal of risk communication therefore is more than just imparting scientific facts. It is about ensuring that the public fully understand risk and that they are enabled to make informed decisions under conditions of uncertainty. How people perceive risk, and their values and feelings toward occupational and environmental health issues, are as important considerations for risk communication as are numerical or factual scientific data. Occupational and environmental health scares often occur because of complexities such as the multidimensionality of risk, trust or mistrust in sources of information, technological revolution, the reliance of the public on the media for health information and the public desire for information and the truth. If, as health professionals, we are to address effectively both real and perceived occupational and environmental health issues, we need to be aware of the major advances that have been made in the use of risk communication in recent years.     

A view from the media on vaccine safety

This article discusses the debate between the media and the public health community over the publication of vaccine safety stories. In general, the contribution of the media to increasing parents' awareness of the dangers of vaccination, which Brian Ward mentioned in his paper, can be seen in a positive light. However, it is noted that in the aftermath of every scare, immunization rates decline substantially. Hence, conflicts between media personnel and public health officials arise. In the view of some media people, stories about problems with vaccines are published because they are news. If a peer-reviewed journal publishes a paper claiming a problem with a vaccine, it is because that information, right or wrong, exists. Others, on the other hand, think the burden rests on the science reporter to make sure that any rare adverse events attributed to vaccines are set fully in context against the risks of the disease and the benefits of vaccines to the population as a whole. Moreover, media people observe that there are potential conflicts for public health officials in their role both as sources of scientific information and as advocates for immunization. Overall, it is suggested that if public health and media alike see themselves as serving the public, then perhaps both should listen and adapt.     

Gesundheitliche Aufklärung als Risikokommunikation

Those seeking to educate the public about health need to communicate health risks effectively. This involves providing evidence-based information about factors and behaviors that are dangerous to people’s health and making recommendations regarding how risks can be avoided or minimized. This communication usually aims to motivate people to act in a way that promotes health or prevents disease. Organized ‘health education’ that seeks to communicate risks is always embedded in a contextual framework that in turn influences the issues and content to be communicated and the form of communication that is chosen. The scope of available scientific knowledge is an important part of this framework as is the extent to which risks are presented in the media as being dangerous. The media’s message has a strong influence on how the public and specific subgroups within it react. The article describes conditions that contribute to successful risk communication based on the example of HIV/AIDS prevention. We chose this particular case because it can serve as an example of how to deal with future epidemics that may potentially generate substantial media coverage. This field report shows how risk communication about HIV/AIDS in the mass media in Germany in the mid-1980s elicited a risk consciousness among the general public that in itself was in danger of becoming a health risk, especially for people affected by the disease, and how ‘health education’ responded to this challenge. It concludes by describing how these experiences with risk communication can be applied to similar types of risk communication today.     

从深圳首例人禽流感疫情应对看突发公共卫生事件的大众沟通

深圳首例人禽流感疫情的成功应对得益于良好的大众沟通。未雨绸缪,健康教育先行;突发公共卫生事件应急处置的首要措施是及时准确公开信息,因为集体恐慌往往源于权威信息的缺失。信息公开应符合“即时性原则”和“跟进性原则”。建议高度重视与新闻媒体的沟通,新闻媒体是最快捷的大众沟通渠道,积极的媒体沟通可以有效引导公众舆论,变被动为主动;日常做好沟通准备,建立新闻媒体关系网络,拟定突发公共卫生事件信息发布计划,并注意要取得发布消息的授权、核实和确认信息及统一口径。     

Interactional Alarms: Experts’ Framing of Health Risks in Live Broadcast News Interviews

This study examined how experts frame health risks in real-time interactions with journalists. Though there is evidence that experts influence media framing of health risks, the ways they respond to journalists’ agendas in real-time interactions have yet to be explored. This paper examines instances of risk assessment extracted from a corpus of news interviews to determine how expert assessments were requested and provided. The analysis reveals that experts rarely deliver their assessments neutrally but rather treat these exchanges as opportunities for framing or reframing the topic. Their framing is shown to be responsive to journalistic agendas and to those who experts understand to be accountable when their assessment is elicited. These findings suggest ways in which news interviews can be useful in health communication. The implications for experts, journalists, and public information officers who plan to use interviews for this purpose are discussed.     

Social agents and news media as risk amplifiers: a case study on the public debate about the E. coli outbreak in Germany 2011

The social amplification of risk framework highlights the role which the news media play in risk communication by interacting with other agents in amplifying risk. However, the precise ways in which the media and other social agents actually amplify risks in public debates are unclear. In this article we draw on insights from the sociology of news to examine whether and to what extent social agents and news media amplify an emerging health risk. We use the debate about the Escherichia coli outbreak in Germany in 2011 to examine three issues: the amount of risk reporting by news media and social agents in their function as news sources; their evaluation of risk; and how they contribute to the escalation of risk, also known as ripple effects. In this article we draw on data from a content analysis of press releases from public health authorities and affected stakeholders and of news items in leading German news media. We found that the affected stakeholders were amplifying the risk to the greatest extent. We also found that there was a shift over time in the use of dominant frames. At the start of the debate the risk was framed as a public health issue and linked to medical-scientific progress. As the debate developed, more attention was given to political and economic consequences of the outbreak and the original health risk event was layered by other risk-related events.     

健康类纸质报刊如何应对新媒体冲击

新兴的多媒体数字技术正日益影响人们的生活,传统报媒正面临由于新媒体的快速发展带来的巨大挑战。尤其是健康类专业报刊面临的挑战是最大的,既同其他纸质媒体一样面临新媒体的挑战,还要应对纸质综合性媒体的竞争。如何应对新媒体的冲击,是目前健康类专业报刊所面临的最大课题。本文认为,健康类报刊应突破现有的运作思维模式,把握新闻和信息传播的关键因素,扬长避短,在充分发挥自己的品牌、资源等优势基础上,努力构建不可替代的科学性和权威性兼具公信力的特质,才能立于不败之地。     

"If it bleeds it leads"? Attributes of TV health news stories that drive viewer attention

OBJECTIVE: Health advocates increasing y use the news media to educate the public. However, little is known about what motivates individuals to pay attention to health news. This study investigated which characteristics of TV health news stories attract viewer interest. METHODS: The authors surveyed airport patrons, the audience of a public health symposium, and municipal jurors, asking which attributes of TV heath news stories encouraged interest and which attributes discouraged interest. The authors ranked mean responses and compared them using Spearman rank correlations, RESULTS: The rankings assigned by the three samples were highly correlated. Respondents reported being most attracted to health stories about personally relevant topics. Interestingly, they also reported that sensational story elements such as "showing a bloody or injured person" and "being action packed" did not substantially influence their attention. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that viewers, regardless of their level of health knowledge, value the same attributes in TV health news stories. Emphasizing the personal relevance of health topics appears to be a viable strategy to capture viewer interest. Conversely, the tendency of broadcast news to sensationalize stories may be distracting in the case of health news.     

科技期刊视域下的创新成果公众传播

【目的】 总结归纳科技期刊创新成果的公众传播现状,指出以科技期刊为载体的创新成果传播存在的问题,并探索以科技期刊为主体的公众传播和推广策略。【方法】 通过文献调研、网络调研,了解国内外出版商和科技期刊的公众传播案例,总结科技期刊开展公众传播的经验。通过问卷调研,了解科研人员、期刊编辑、新闻记者对于科技期刊公众科学传播的态度。结果 科技期刊重视创新成果在公众传播领域的推送,采用社交媒体、新闻媒体渠道组织丰富的文章呈现方式,为将象牙塔的最新成果转化为公众感兴趣的、具有科普效果的内容做了良好的示范。【结论】 我国科技期刊围绕创新成果开展科学普及多为自发行为,受限于人力、财力,同时缺乏与媒体有效的沟通机制,科学传播动力不足。开放科学时代,科技期刊开展公众传播需要明确“定位”、做好“分级”、建立“出口”、打通“渠道”、落实“政策”,搭建“科技期刊-传播媒介-大众”这一有效的传播链条,实现科技创新与科学普及两翼齐飞。     

A strategy for increasing news media coverage of tobacco and health in Australia

BACKGROUND: In many nations, government fiscal restraint is reducing the ability of public health authorities to mount mass-reach health information advertising campaigns. Strategies for increasing news coverage of health issues, and thereby contributing to policy advocacy, are well recognized, yet under-explored in health promotion research. OBJECTIVE: To increase news coverage of smoking and health issues by issuing media releases about research judged as newsworthy and important in contributing to tobacco control policy debates. METHOD: Research reports selected for their potential newsworthiness were promoted in news releases and their news 'hit rates' in New South Wales (Australia) metropolitan media over 5 weeks were compared with the background coverage of tobacco control issues over the same period. RESULTS: Fifty-eight of 283 (20.5%) news reports on tobacco in the study period were generated by the six media releases. CONCLUSIONS: News reportage of tobacco control and other public health issues can be increased significantly by the strategic use of news releases alerting journalists to research reports that embody recognizable news values. This is an inexpensive strategy with great potential to advance public health objectives.     

Public Information Officers' and Journalists' Perceived Barriers to Providing Quality Health Information

Given the increase in the volume of health and medical news over the past few years, the expanding population of journalists committed to feeding the public's voracious appetite for such information, and the important role of government public health organizations in producing and disseminating public health information, it is surprising that little research exists that explores the relationships among public health entities and health journalists. This article describes and analyzes similarities and differences in perceptions between journalists and information officers in public health agencies on a number of issues to reveal how public information officers and health journalists can work to build a local public health agenda free from the burden of unnecessary or inconsistent barriers. This study reports findings from a study with a 3-stage pretest and 90 interviews with state and local public health information officers and the health journalists who cover public health beats across the United States. Despite some agreement, results indicate wide disparities between these populations' identification of what the barriers to high-quality health care and information are, and a generalized absence of a “shared vision.”     

2011年江苏省烟草控制相关媒体监测信息分析

目的分析2011年江苏省内报纸和互联网刊登烟草控制相关信息情况,探讨媒体在公共卫生领域的作用。方法借助专业剪报机构收集并筛选江苏省报纸及互联网刊登的烟草控制相关信息,并进行统计分析。结果2011年内共收集到江苏省内78家媒体报道的烟草控制相关信息343条,主要来源于《扬子晚报》、《现代快报》等知名媒体,信息发布主要集中在5—6月份,接近70％的信息主题为无烟环境,约50％为正面报道。结论媒体是公共卫生机构与社会公众沟通的桥梁,卫生机构人员应及时跟踪媒体动向,掌握媒体报道,充分利用媒体进行控烟宣传,提高公众健康意识,促进公众健康。