From sweeteners to cell phones—Cancer myths and beliefs among journalism undergraduates

OBJECTIVE The media are an important source of health information that can help people make their own medical decisions. However, medical news can also transmit biases produced by different factors, such as the previously held beliefs of journalists. This study identifies which cancer myths are more popular among future journalists and whether their beliefs are related to their chosen source of health information. METHODS A survey was conducted among journalism undergraduates (N = 249) to determine which cancer myths existed and how widespread they were. The survey included a list with different sources of health information and eight questions regarding cancer-related myths. RESULTS The mo…

Entre l’estigma i la frivolitat: El Dia Mundial del Càncer en la premsa espanyola

El cancer es un tema d’interes destacat per a la ciutadania. Els mitjans de comunicacio, en tant que reflex i alhora conformadors de valors socials, transmeten una visio de la malaltia que no sempre es la mes acurada i clarificadora. En aquest article s’analitza la repercussio mediatica durant la darrera decada del Dia Mundial del Cancer als quatre diaris d’informacio general amb major difusio a Espanya. L’objectiu es estudiar de quina manera es fa us de l’efemeride per a oferir informacio relativa a la malaltia i si el tractament informatiu es precis i rigoros o cau en l’estereotip i el sensacionalisme.

Giving meaning to illness and death

Protons for Jehovah’s Witnesses? How press coverage of Ashya King’s case brought proton beam therapy to the public arena

The case of Ashya King, the child brain tumour patient whose parents took from a British hospital so he could be treated with Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) abroad, contributed to popularize that technology among a general audience. Through the content analysis of British and Spanish press coverage (N=329), our research shows that proton therapy enjoyed scarce coverage in the analysed media before Ashya King’s case. His story, magnified due to the fact that his parents were Jehovah’s witnesses was a cause both for public concern and media sensationalism. We show that the case brought PBT into the public sphere and, consequently, contributed to create a demand for facilities that offered this the…

She-Coronavirus: How cartoonists reflected women health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Women account for 70% of healthcare workers, so their role has been – and still is – fundamental in addressing and managing the current pandemic event caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Far from being an opportunity to highlight the importance of women in the field, the healthcare crisis, together with lockdown policies and care responsibilities, have contributed to increase the gender gap. To study the depiction of women healthcare professionals, this paper analyses 401 cartoons on the COVID-19 pandemic that depict healthcare workers. Most represent doctors as men and nurses as women, in roles subordinate to men. The representation of women is also impacted by stereotypes that do not c…