Science writers' reactions to a medical "breakthrough" story

'Miracle cure' or 'liquid handcuffs': reporting on naltrexone and methadone in the Australian print media

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS

The news media is an important source of information regarding new developments in medicine and public health interventions. Previous research has indicated that in many cases, reporting on new treatments can be inaccurate or sensationalist. This paper presents analysis of Australian print media reporting on two treatment options for heroin dependence (naltrexone and methadone). The aim of this study was to quantitatively compare the volume and content of Australian print media reporting on these two treatments, one of which had a long history of use in Australia, and the other which was comparatively newer.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The study constituted a quantitative content analysis of a sample of 859 Australian newspaper articles, published over a 10-year period (1997-2007). Each article paragraph was coded for positive outcomes/benefits of treatment, as well as negative outcomes associated with treatment.

RESULTS

The analysis revealed that during this period, the Australian print media was significantly more likely to report the potential positive outcomes of naltrexone treatment, compared with the negative outcomes. In contrast, reporting on methadone focused more on the negative outcomes and side effects.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The relative frequency by which the benefits of naltrexone were mentioned in this sample of news content is somewhat at odds with the extant efficacy and effectiveness research evidence. The findings suggest that reporting on these treatments in the Australian print media has not been balanced. This type of reporting has potential implications for public attitudes, as well as policy decisions.

Public estimates of cancer frequency: cancer incidence perceptions mirror distorted media depictions

Compared with incidence rates, certain cancers are over- or underrepresented in news coverage. Past content analytic research has consistently documented these news distortions, but no study has examined whether they are related to public perception of cancer incidence. Adults (N = 400) completed a survey with questions about perceived cancer incidence, news consumption, and attention to health news. Cancer incidence perceptions paralleled previously documented news distortions. Overrepresented cancers were overestimated (e.g., blood, head/brain) and underrepresented cancers were underestimated (e.g., male reproductive, lymphatic, thyroid, and bladder). Self-reported news consumption was related to perceptual distortions such that heavier consumers were more likely to demonstrate distorted perceptions of four cancers (bladder, blood, breast, and kidney). Distortions in risk perception and news coverage also mirrored discrepancies in federal funding for cancer research. Health care professionals, journalists, and the public should be educated about these distortions to reduce or mitigate potential negative effects on health behavior and decision making.

Media coverage of health issues and how to work more effectively with journalists: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

The mass media has enormous potential to influence health-related behaviours and perceptions. Much research has focused on how the media frames health issues. This study sought to explore how journalists in Australia select and shape news on health issues.

METHODS

The study involved semi-structured interviews with 16 journalists from major Australian print, radio and television media organisations reporting on avian influenza and pandemic planning. Journalists, including reporters, editors and producers, were interviewed between October 2006 and August 2007. Thematic analysis was used to draw out major lessons for health communicators.

RESULTS

Journalists routinely attempted to balance different, sometimes competing, aims amidst significant operational constraints. They perceived the most trusted sources on health issues to be respected and independent doctors. Specialist health and medical reporters had a more sound technical knowledge, channels to appropriate sources, power within their organisations, and ability to advocate for better quality coverage.

CONCLUSIONS

An awareness of how to work with the media is essential for health communicators. This includes understanding journalists' daily routines, being available, providing resources, and building relationships with specialist health reporters.

Representations of voluntary childlessness in the UK press, 1990-2008

Representations of voluntary childlessness--the declaration by an individual that he or she does not wish to bear or raise children--were studied in 116 articles published in British national newspapers in the period 1990-2008. Media framing analysis was used to examine broad patterns of framing of the topic, identifying four frames: voluntary childlessness as an individual rights issue, as a form of resistance, as a social trend, and as a personal decision. These frames, it is argued, may act as potential 'scripts' for newspaper readers who are debating the decision to start a family.

Media reporting of health interventions: signs of improvement, but major problems persist

Background

Studies have persistently shown deficiencies in medical reporting by the mainstream media. We have been monitoring the accuracy and comprehensiveness of medical news reporting in Australia since mid 2004. This analysis of more than 1200 stories in the Australian media compares different types of media outlets and examines reporting trends over time.

Methods and Findings

Between March 2004 and June 2008 1230 news stories were rated on a national medical news monitoring web site, Media Doctor Australia. These covered a variety of health interventions ranging from drugs, diagnostic tests and surgery to dietary and complementary therapies. Each story was independently assessed by two reviewers using ten criteria. Scores were expressed as percentages of total assessable items deemed satisfactory according to a coding guide. Analysis of variance was used to compare mean scores and Fishers exact test to compare proportions. Trends over time were analysed using un-weighted linear regression analysis. Broadsheet newspapers had the highest average satisfactory scores: 58% (95% CI 56–60%), compared with tabloid newspapers and online news outlets, 48% (95% CI 44–52) and 48% (95% CI 46–50) respectively. The lowest scores were assigned to stories broadcast by human interest/current affairs television programmes (average score 33% (95% CI 28–38)). While there was a non- significant increase in average scores for all outlets, a significant improvement was seen in the online news media: a rise of 5.1% (95%CI 1.32, 8.97; P 0.009). Statistically significant improvements were seen in coverage of the potential harms of interventions, the availability of treatment or diagnostic options, and accurate quantification of benefits.

Conclusion

Although the overall quality of medical reporting in the general media remains poor, this study showed modest improvements in some areas. However, the most striking finding was the continuing very poor coverage of health news by commercial current affairs television programs.

Perceived ambiguity about cancer prevention recommendations: associations with cancer-related perceptions and behaviours in a US population survey

BACKGROUND

Health information reaching the public today is often characterized by what decision theorists have termed 'ambiguity'- i.e. uncertainty regarding the information's reliability, credibility or adequacy. This is a critical problem, as growing research suggests that ambiguity has important effects-promoting pessimistic judgments about risks and potential outcomes of risk-reducing behaviours, and lowering adoption of these behaviours. However, little is known about the public's perceptions of ambiguity in the health information domain, the effects of these perceptions, and the factors that influence these effects.

OBJECTIVE

To examine associations between perceived ambiguity regarding cancer prevention recommendations and prevention-related perceptions and behaviours, and to explore how these associations differ by cancer type.

STUDY DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS

Cross-sectional analysis of data on 4,070 adults participating in the 2005 US Health Information National Trends Survey. MAIN VARIABLES AND OUTCOME MEASURES: We examined associations between perceived ambiguity about colon, skin and lung cancer prevention recommendations and two main outcome variables: (i) risk-related cognitions (perceived cancer risk and preventability, cancer-related worry) and (ii) risk-modifying behaviours (colon cancer screening, sunscreen use and smoking abstinence).

RESULTS

Perceived ambiguity was inversely associated with perceptions of the preventability of all three cancers, and with cancer-specific risk-modifying behaviours including sigmoidoscopy-colonoscopy testing, sunscreen use and smoking abstinence. Relationships with cancer risk perceptions and worry varied across different cancer types.

CONCLUSIONS

Perceived ambiguity about cancer prevention recommendations has significant and predictable associations with cancer prevention-related cognitions and behaviours, and some associations differ by cancer type. These findings have implications for future research and communication efforts.

For my wellness, not just my illness: North Americans' use of dietary supplements

Passage of the DSHEA in 1994 created a new "liminal" category for the FDA: dietary supplements are regulated as neither food nor drugs. However, there appears to be a significant disconnect between the "official" discourse surrounding dietary supplements and supplement users' actual practices. Despite this discrepancy, and the inadequacy of surveys to capture the dynamics of pharmaceutical practice, there is little ethnographic information available on the ways that Americans think about or use dietary supplements. We offer some preliminary observations from a pilot ethnographic study of Americans' use of dietary supplements in which we consider not only the reasons why people are using supplements, but how they are using them, and how their experimentation has been influenced by the information they seek and receive from a variety of sources. We illustrate how anthropological studies of supplement related practice can help us better understand Americans' attraction to and use of dietary supplements, and suggest that anthropology can contribute to a more balanced perspective on supplement use-one that moves the study of supplements beyond surveys and randomized controlled studies of efficacy to considerations of patterns of use in context, user expectations, and measures of perceived effectiveness.

Cancer knowledge and disparities in the information age

Increasing information flow often leads to widening gaps in knowledge between different socioeconomic status (SES) groups as higher SES groups are more likely to acquire this new information at a faster rate than lower SES groups. These gaps in knowledge may offer a partial but robust explanation for differential risk behaviors and health disparities between different social groups. Drawing on the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 2003), a national survey of communication behaviors conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), we examine the relationship between publicity and knowledge gaps on two cancer topics that received different levels of publicity: knowledge about tobacco and sun exposure and their respective links to cancer. Analyses of the HINTS 2003 data suggest that differential knowledge levels of causes of cancer between SES groups are one potential explanation of cancer disparities that have been extensively reported in the literature. It is evident that high income and high education are associated with awareness about causes of major cancers such as lung and skin, and may allow people to protect themselves and minimize their risks. The data also show that heavier media attention could attenuate the knowledge gaps though moderate publicity or lack of news coverage may actually widen them. Last, the findings in this article suggest that it is necessary to take into account the SES variation within different racial and ethnic groups rather than mask them by treating the groups as one.

Scientists' and science writers' experiences reporting genetic discoveries: toward an ethic of trust in science journalism

PURPOSE

To describe the relationship between scientists and science writers and their experiences with media reporting of genetic discoveries.

METHODS

This study included individual interviews with 15 scientists who specialize in genetics and 22 science writers who have covered their stories and a qualitative analysis of the data.

RESULTS

Scientists and science writers place an equally high priority on accuracy of media reports. They agree on what makes genetics stories newsworthy and the particular challenges in reporting genetic discoveries (i.e., poor public understanding of genetics, the association of genetics with eugenics, and the lack of immediately apparent applications of genetic discoveries to human health). The relationship between scientists and bona fide science writers is largely positive. Scientists tend to trust, respect, and be receptive to science writers. Both scientists and science writers acknowledge that trust is an essential component of a good interview. Science writers report a fair degree of autonomy with respect to the relationship they have with their editors.

CONCLUSION

To the degree that trust facilitates the access that science writers have to scientists, as well as higher quality interviews between scientists and science writers, trust might also contribute to higher quality media reporting. Therefore, scientists and science writers have an ethical obligation to foster trusting relationships with each other. Future research should systematically explore ways to cultivate such relationships and assess their impact on the quality of science journalism.