Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33256766›Full record

ArticleHarm reduction journal2020

Reporting on the opioid crisis (2000-2018): role of The Globe and Mail, a Canadian English-language newspaper in influencing public opinion.

Amanda My Linh Quan, Lindsay A Wilson, Salima S Mithani, David T Zhu, A Brianne Bota, Kumanan Wilson

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Harm reduction journal, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Amanda My Linh QuanClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, 1053 Carling Avenue, Box 684, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 4E9, Canada.
Lindsay A WilsonClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, 1053 Carling Avenue, Box 684, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 4E9, Canada.
Salima S MithaniClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, 1053 Carling Avenue, Box 684, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 4E9, Canada.
David T ZhuClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, 1053 Carling Avenue, Box 684, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 4E9, Canada.
A Brianne BotaClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, 1053 Carling Avenue, Box 684, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 4E9, Canada.
Kumanan WilsonClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, 1053 Carling Avenue, Box 684, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 4E9, Canada. kwilson@ohri.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-1741-7705

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWe aim to describe the general characteristics of how the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reports on opioid-related news, the opioid crisis and its victims, and explore how Canadians' perceptions of the opioid crisis could have developed over time from this reporting. The Globe and Mail has the highest circulation among Canadian newspapers and is Canada's newspaper of record.

methodsReviewers performed independent, blinded bibliometric searches of all The Globe and Mail articles archived in the Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly spanning an 18-year period (1 January 2000-1 June 2018) related to the keywords "opioids" or "drugs and opioids" and "opiates". Independently and in duplicate, reviewers manually extracted qualitative data from articles and identified emergent themes. Articles were screened independently by both reviewers based on the inclusion criteria. Conflicts were resolved by discussion and consensus. Social representation theory was used as a framework for describing how the opioid crisis is portrayed in Canada.

resultsOur search yielded 650 relevant opioid articles. The number of articles peaked in 2009, 2012, and in 2016, coinciding with major developments in the epidemic. The language used in this discourse has evolved over the years and has slowly shifted towards less stigmatizing language. Content analysis of the articles revealed common social representations attributing responsibility to pharmaceutical companies, physicians, and foreign countries.

conclusionsThe Globe and Mail's coverage of the opioid crisis is focused on basic social representations and attributed responsibility for the crisis to a few collectives. A shift toward coverage of the root causes of the opioid epidemic could positively influence the general public's perception of the opioid crisis and promote deeper understanding of the issue. Journalists face several obstacles to achieve greater focus and framing of the opioid crisis; a closer working relationship between the media and the research community is needed.

Indexed as

Opioid EpidemicPublic OpinionCanadaHumansLanguageMass MediaPostal ServiceCanadaContent analysisOpioids

Identifiers

PMID33256766
PMCPMC7708153

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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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.