Mass media depiction of mental illness in Nigeria
Background: Mental illness is increasingly becoming a leading cause of global disease burden, yet this aspect of public health remains highly neglected in Nigeria. The public relies on newspaper for diverse information needs and the way newspapers portray issues of mental illness tends to influence...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PAGEPress Publications
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Public Health in Africa |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.publichealthinafrica.org/jphia/article/view/1527 |
| Summary: | Background: Mental illness is increasingly becoming a leading cause of global disease burden, yet this aspect of public health remains highly neglected in Nigeria. The public relies on newspaper for diverse information needs and the way newspapers portray issues of mental illness tends to influence public perception of the ailment.
Objectives: This study examined the level of media attention and principal discursive resources deployed by Nigerian newspapers to depict mental illness issues from 2015 to 2019.
Methodology: Anchored on the Agenda Setting theory, the study analysed the manifest contents of three major Nigerian national newspapers selected through a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using a code sheet that reflected relevant content categories and units of analysis.
Results: Of the 920 health articles analysed, only 79 (8.6%) articles discussed mental illness. 84.8% of all mental illness related articles were tucked in the inside pages of the newspapers and 58.2% of the stories were reported using the conventional straight news. The negative themes of suicide (36.7%) and substance abuse (32.9%) were the principal discursive resources that echoed in most of the published articles.
Conclusion: Overall, issues of mental illness were grossly underreported by the Nigerian media when compared to other health issues and wrong media depiction of the problem remains a risk factor. Hence, the Nigerian mass media should strive towards setting better agenda that will actuate necessary policy actions from stakeholders in the health sector by providing adequate coverage and positive representation of mental illness issues.
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| ISSN: | 2038-9922 2038-9930 |