ArticleJournal of epidemiology and community health2011
UK newspapers' representations of the 2009-10 outbreak of swine flu: one health scare not over-hyped by the media?
Article in Journal of epidemiology and community health, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A systematic review of factors affecting intended and actual adherence with antiviral medication as treatment or prophylaxis in seasonal and pandemic flu.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2016Pooled it
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- Who is sceptical about emerging public health threats? Results from 39 national surveys in the United Kingdom.Public health · 2015Article
- A quantitative content analysis of UK newsprint coverage of proposed legislation to prohibit smoking in private vehicles carrying children.BMC public health · 2015Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundA/H1N1, more commonly referred to as swine flu, emerged in Mexico in spring 2009. It rapidly spread across the world and was classed as a global pandemic on 11 June 2009.
objectiveTo analyse UK newsprint coverage of the swine flu pandemic.
methodsContent analysis of 2374 newsprint articles published in eight UK national newspapers between 1 March 2009 and 28 February 2010.
resultsNewsprint coverage of the swine flu epidemic was immense. The threat from swine flu was portrayed as greatest in the spring and summer of 2009 when scientific uncertainties about the impact on the UK and global population were at their height and when swine flu cases in the UK first peaked. Thereafter the number of news articles waned, failing to mirror the October peak in flu cases as the virus failed to be as virulent as first feared. Content analysis found little evidence of the media 'over-hyping' the swine flu pandemic.
conclusionsThe news media's role as a disseminator of scientific information is particularly important in areas of risk perception. Despite a succession of health scares in recent years in which the media has been accused of exaggerating the risks and contributing to public misunderstandings of the issues, this analysis suggests that the UK newsprint reporting of swine flu in the 2009-10 outbreak was largely measured. The news media's role as disseminators of factual health information on swine flu is to be welcomed, particularly in relation to their handling and responsible reporting on scientific uncertainty.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.