Media and mistrust of vaccines: a content analysis of press headlines
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2019-1357Keywords:
vaccines, media, public health, newspaper, mistrust, headlineAbstract
Introduction: Mistrust of vaccines is a serious health challenge. The media can encourage use of effective healthcare services. Objective: Examine media coverage of vaccines and identify key features, frames and the tone towards vaccines. Methodology: A content analysis of 131 headlines and lead paragraphs about vaccines was conducted in the Spanish print media from 2012 to 2017. Results: Headlines were succinct, mean of 8.5 words (range: 1-19, SD: ± 3.5). Positive headlines were more frequent than neutral and negative ones, and while negative headlines remained unchanged (p = .163), positive and neutral ones increased significantly (p < .001, p = .037 respectively). The most frequent words related to a) actors involved in vaccination; b) specific vaccines; c) actions related to vaccination; and d) research. Conclusions: Positive and neutral headlines towards vaccination have increased. Findings may contribute to the broader task of improving media practices in times of anti-vaccine lobbies.
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