Media coverage of calls to rename low-risk cancers: a content analysis
Objectives The use of more medicalised labels can increase both concern about illness and the desire for more invasive treatment. This study analyses the media’s coverage of an Analysis article in The BMJ which generated a large amount of high-profile international media coverage. It aims to underst...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2020-07-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/7/e038087.full |
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| _version_ | 1846140880794157056 |
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| author | Brooke Nickel Ray Moynihan Alexandra Barratt Juan P Brito |
| author_facet | Brooke Nickel Ray Moynihan Alexandra Barratt Juan P Brito |
| author_sort | Brooke Nickel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives The use of more medicalised labels can increase both concern about illness and the desire for more invasive treatment. This study analyses the media’s coverage of an Analysis article in The BMJ which generated a large amount of high-profile international media coverage. It aims to understand how to better communicate messages about low-risk cancers and overdiagnosis to the public.Design Content analysis of media coverage.Setting Media was identified by Isentia Media Portal, searched in Google News and cross-checked in Factiva and Proquest databases from August 2018.Methods Media headlines, full text and open access public comments responding to the coverage on the article proposing to ‘rename low-risk conditions currently labelled as cancer’ were analysed to determine the main themes.Results 45 original media articles and their associated public comments (n=167) were identified and included in the analysis. Overall, headlines focused on cancer generally and there was little mention of ‘low-risk’, ‘overdiagnosis’ or ‘overtreatment’. The full text generally presented a more balanced view of the evidence and were supportive of the proposal, however, public responses tended to be more negative towards the idea of renaming low-risk cancers and indicated confusion. Comments seemed to focus on the headlines rather than the full article.Conclusions This study offers a novel insight into media coverage of the complex and counterintuitive problem of overdiagnosis. Continued deliberation on how to communicate similar topics to the public through the mainstream media is needed. Future work in the area of low-risk cancer communication should consider the powerful impact of people’s previous experience with a cancer diagnosis and the criticism about being paternalistic and concealing the truth from patients. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e575a08181e94246b3ecd202f3a42ad5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-e575a08181e94246b3ecd202f3a42ad52024-12-05T03:40:07ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552020-07-0110710.1136/bmjopen-2020-038087Media coverage of calls to rename low-risk cancers: a content analysisBrooke Nickel0Ray Moynihan1Alexandra Barratt2Juan P Brito33 Wiser Healthcare Research Collaboration, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaInstitute for Evidence-Based Healthcare, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, AustraliaSchool of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaDivision of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism & Nutrition, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USAObjectives The use of more medicalised labels can increase both concern about illness and the desire for more invasive treatment. This study analyses the media’s coverage of an Analysis article in The BMJ which generated a large amount of high-profile international media coverage. It aims to understand how to better communicate messages about low-risk cancers and overdiagnosis to the public.Design Content analysis of media coverage.Setting Media was identified by Isentia Media Portal, searched in Google News and cross-checked in Factiva and Proquest databases from August 2018.Methods Media headlines, full text and open access public comments responding to the coverage on the article proposing to ‘rename low-risk conditions currently labelled as cancer’ were analysed to determine the main themes.Results 45 original media articles and their associated public comments (n=167) were identified and included in the analysis. Overall, headlines focused on cancer generally and there was little mention of ‘low-risk’, ‘overdiagnosis’ or ‘overtreatment’. The full text generally presented a more balanced view of the evidence and were supportive of the proposal, however, public responses tended to be more negative towards the idea of renaming low-risk cancers and indicated confusion. Comments seemed to focus on the headlines rather than the full article.Conclusions This study offers a novel insight into media coverage of the complex and counterintuitive problem of overdiagnosis. Continued deliberation on how to communicate similar topics to the public through the mainstream media is needed. Future work in the area of low-risk cancer communication should consider the powerful impact of people’s previous experience with a cancer diagnosis and the criticism about being paternalistic and concealing the truth from patients.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/7/e038087.full |
| spellingShingle | Brooke Nickel Ray Moynihan Alexandra Barratt Juan P Brito Media coverage of calls to rename low-risk cancers: a content analysis BMJ Open |
| title | Media coverage of calls to rename low-risk cancers: a content analysis |
| title_full | Media coverage of calls to rename low-risk cancers: a content analysis |
| title_fullStr | Media coverage of calls to rename low-risk cancers: a content analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Media coverage of calls to rename low-risk cancers: a content analysis |
| title_short | Media coverage of calls to rename low-risk cancers: a content analysis |
| title_sort | media coverage of calls to rename low risk cancers a content analysis |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/7/e038087.full |
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