News coverage of drug development: implications for the conveyance of health information
Abstract Background Technical information regarding health-related advances is sometimes esoteric for the general public. News media, therefore, plays a key role in public health promotion via health information conveyance. In this study, we use China as a sample country and analyze the claims and f...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2021-10-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11849-8 |
| _version_ | 1818987272740012032 |
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| author | Jiangtao Wang Wing-Fu Lai |
| author_facet | Jiangtao Wang Wing-Fu Lai |
| author_sort | Jiangtao Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Technical information regarding health-related advances is sometimes esoteric for the general public. News media, therefore, plays a key role in public health promotion via health information conveyance. In this study, we use China as a sample country and analyze the claims and frames in news coverage of health-related advances, with special focus on news coverage of the development and performance of newly developed or tested drugs. Methods A keyword search was performed to retrieve news articles from four representative news agencies in China. In total, 3029 news reports were retrieved, of which 128 were selected for further analysis. Results Four aspects of news coverage of drug development were identified: (1) the characteristics of new drugs covered, (2) the sources of information, (3) the accuracy of health information in newspapers, and (4) textual features of news coverage. Conclusions Our findings reveal that guidelines should be established to facilitate more systematic news reporting on health-related advances. Additionally, literacy among the general public and professionalism in health information conveyance should be promoted to negate the “illusion of knowing” about health-related advances. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:04:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f387af540fc84681b1e46cdcf117edc3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:04:03Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-f387af540fc84681b1e46cdcf117edc32022-12-21T19:29:20ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582021-10-0121111010.1186/s12889-021-11849-8News coverage of drug development: implications for the conveyance of health informationJiangtao Wang0Wing-Fu Lai1Section of Science, Southern WeeklySchool of Life and Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen)Abstract Background Technical information regarding health-related advances is sometimes esoteric for the general public. News media, therefore, plays a key role in public health promotion via health information conveyance. In this study, we use China as a sample country and analyze the claims and frames in news coverage of health-related advances, with special focus on news coverage of the development and performance of newly developed or tested drugs. Methods A keyword search was performed to retrieve news articles from four representative news agencies in China. In total, 3029 news reports were retrieved, of which 128 were selected for further analysis. Results Four aspects of news coverage of drug development were identified: (1) the characteristics of new drugs covered, (2) the sources of information, (3) the accuracy of health information in newspapers, and (4) textual features of news coverage. Conclusions Our findings reveal that guidelines should be established to facilitate more systematic news reporting on health-related advances. Additionally, literacy among the general public and professionalism in health information conveyance should be promoted to negate the “illusion of knowing” about health-related advances.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11849-8Health information conveyanceChinese news mediaIllusion of knowingDrug development |
| spellingShingle | Jiangtao Wang Wing-Fu Lai News coverage of drug development: implications for the conveyance of health information BMC Public Health Health information conveyance Chinese news media Illusion of knowing Drug development |
| title | News coverage of drug development: implications for the conveyance of health information |
| title_full | News coverage of drug development: implications for the conveyance of health information |
| title_fullStr | News coverage of drug development: implications for the conveyance of health information |
| title_full_unstemmed | News coverage of drug development: implications for the conveyance of health information |
| title_short | News coverage of drug development: implications for the conveyance of health information |
| title_sort | news coverage of drug development implications for the conveyance of health information |
| topic | Health information conveyance Chinese news media Illusion of knowing Drug development |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11849-8 |
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