Stroke Information Reported on Local Television News

The portrayal of bone tumours in the press

The media are pivotal in educating and informing the general public. The stories they cover and how they cover them has a powerful influence on public perceptions. There have been no previous reports of the portrayal of bone tumours in the press. LexisNexis™ Professional search engine used to retrieve articles from all United Kingdom National Newspapers over one year containing terms "bone tumour/bone tumour" and 46 other named bone and joint tumours from May 2009 to May 2010. A total of 253 relevant articles were found. Seven per cent solely bone tumour related, 41% main theme and 52% mentioned in passing. 52% mentioned tumour type. These were 51% multiple myeloma, 15% Ewing's sarcoma, 9% sarcoma unspecified, 6% clear cell sarcoma, 4.5% epithelial sarcoma, 4% synovial sarcoma, 3% osteosarcoma, 3% bony metastasis and 1.5% chondrosarcoma. Benign bone tumours not mentioned. Article focus: chemotherapy 17%, surgeon/doctor 7% and new surgical technique 2%. The overall attitudinal tone of the articles were 52% negative, 32% neutral and 16% positive. Only 13% quoted an oncologist, and 1% an orthopaedic surgeon. Quality of medical information provided was limited with 90% providing no meaningful medical information and this medical information being correct only 68% of the time. Articles with quotes from a doctor were significantly more likely to contain meaningful medical information than those without-33 versus 4%, respectively (p < 0.001 Chi-squared test)-and there was a trend for them to be more factually correct overall-68 versus 50% (p = 0.192 Fisher's exact Test).

Stigmatization of repetitive hand use in newspaper reports of hand illness

Failure to provide a balanced evidence-based consideration of the role of activity in illness can stigmatize individuals and their activities. We assessed the prevalence of language that stigmatized repetitive hand use and those that use their hand repetitively in newspaper coverage of common hand illnesses. The LexisNexis Academic database was used to search five major US newspapers for articles containing keywords about common hand illnesses during a 3-year period. Article language was assessed for stigmatization of activities involving repetitive hand use as well as for stigmatization of patients who use their hand repetitively. One hundred and twenty-four articles on hand illnesses were identified. Of these, 65.3% of articles stigmatized activities involving repetitive hand use, including 96.6% of articles discussing overuse injury of the hand, 90% of articles discussing tendonitis or tenosynovitis, and 51.8% of articles discussing carpal tunnel syndrome. Patient stigmatization was documented in 30.6% of the newspaper articles. Stigmatizing statements were most commonly made by journalists (94.8%), followed by patients (3.1%), and physicians (2.1%). Language that stigmatizes repetitive hand use and patients who use their hand repetitively is prevalent among US newspaper articles. Both health professionals and journalists reporting health-related news should be more sensitive to the use of stigmatizing language and provide a more balanced, measured, and evidenced-based account of hand illnesses.

Can mass media influence emergency department visits for stroke?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Television advertising has been associated with significant increases in the knowledge of the warning signs of stroke among Ontarians aged 45 and older. However, to date there has been little data on the relationship between knowledge of the warning signs of stroke and behavior.

METHODS

Data on presentation to regional and enhanced district stroke center emergency departments were obtained from the Registry of the Canadian Stroke Network for a 31-month period between mid 2003 and the beginning of 2006. Public opinion polling was used to track knowledge of the warning signs of stroke among Ontarians aged 45 and older.

RESULTS

The public's awareness of the warning signs of stroke increased during 2003 to 2005, decreasing in 2006 after a 5-month advertising blackout. There was a significant increase in the mean number of emergency department visits for stroke over the study period. A campaign effect independent of year was observed for total presentations, presentation within 5 hours of last seen normal, and presentation within 2.5 hours. For TIAs there was a strong campaign effect but no change in the number of presentations by year.

CONCLUSIONS

Continuous advertising may be required to build and sustain public awareness of the warning signs of stroke. There are many factors that may influence presentation for stroke and awareness of the warning signs may be only one. However, results of this study suggest there may be an important correlation between the advertising and emergency department presentations with stroke, particularly for TIAs.