Nov 14

Written by: admin
11/14/2008 3:35 PM

In an age of increasing globalization, the disease threat is growing and so is our media coverage. This topic is the focus of a study published in the Public Library of Science ONE which investigated the impact of high levels of media reporting on the public perception of disease risks, such as SARS and avian influenza.

The results of the study suggest that diseases that show up frequently in the media are considered more serious and have a higher disease status than those that occur in the media less often, implicating the propensity for biasing public opinion of disease risk.

"When a certain disease receives repeated coverage in the press, people tend to focus on it and perceive it as a real threat. This raises concerns regarding how people view their own health, how they truly understand disease and how they treat themselves,” said Meredith Young, one of the study’s lead authors.

Though the conclusions reached in his study are not novel, responsible journalism is more important than ever in the age of viral media where information is being exchanged with unprecedented speed. It is important to consider the implication of media reporting on public health, walking the fine line between informing the public about issues concerning them and causing unnecessary alarm.

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