Newsroom
Health News Stories Usually Ignore Complete Information
HealthNewsReview.org Publisher to Present Data at AHCJ Conference
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Vicky Jaffe
MS&L
Phone: 617-937-2578
Vicky.jaffe@mslpr.com
Los Angeles, CA., March 14, 2007 – After reviewing more than 300 health care news stories, the Publisher of HealthNewsReview.org (http://healthnewsreview.org) reports that only 26 percent satisfactorily discuss the costs of health care products and procedures, fewer than 30 percent explain potential benefits adequately, and fewer than 35 percent adequately describe potential harms.
“With health care spending now making up 16 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, good journalism should not exclude information about costs when reporting about treatments or procedures,” says Gary Schwitzer, HealthNewsReview.org editor and professor at University of Minnesota School of Journalism & Mass Communication. “But if you don’t discuss costs while also failing to adequately explain the best information on possible benefits and harms, you are presenting an imbalanced and incomplete picture of products and technologies for American consumers.” In his Mar. 16th 9:30 a.m. presentation at Health Journalism 2007, Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) Conference at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City, Schwitzer will describe and examine trends in coverage that both affect the quality of information consumers receive, and reflect on the state of today’s healthcare journalism.
While some of the findings are troubling, the project has also found some shining examples of excellent health journalism, including more than 20 that received the site’s highest “five-star” rating. While some health journalists complain that they can’t get all
the vital information into a story limited by word or space caps, the site has identified several excellent stories that were written in only about 500 words.
HealthNewsReview.org was launched in April 2006 in collaboration with the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making (FIMDM). It is the first U.S. online service designed for journalists and consumers who want reliable, unbiased analysis and evaluation of news stories that make claims about treatments and procedures. It is the largest such dynamic database of content analysis of U.S. health news coverage and it is growing by the day. Each story is analyzed by three different reviewers, coming from a team of more than 20 highly qualified professionals with expertise in journalism, medicine, public health and health services research. News stories are culled from the top 50 circulation newspapers, major broadcast media, weekly news magazines, and wire services.
The site uses various criteria to rate stories, including how well the story:
- Discussed costs
- Described the scale of the potential benefits and harms
- Used absolute (not just relative) risk/benefit data
- Compared the new idea with existing alternatives
- Sought out independent sources with no conflicts of interest
- Looked beyond the news release
- Avoided disease-mongering – exaggerating or medicalizing conditions
About Professor Gary Schwitzer
Professor Gary Schwitzer specialized in healthcare journalism in his more than quarter-century career in radio, television, interactive multimedia and the Internet. He is a member of the faculty of the School of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, and is Director of Graduate Studies for the School's M.A. in Health Journalism program. For 15 years he was a daily health journalism beat reporter. He has served two terms as a member of the board of directors of the Association of Healthcare Journalists, and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Broadcast Education Association.
About Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making (FIMDM)
The Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making’s mission is to assure that people understand their choices and have the information they need to make sound decisions affecting their health and well being. The Foundation organizes and frames medical evidence in an unbiased manner to help people evaluate their options, particularly in instances where differences in individual preferences and perspectives are likely to affect personal choice. For more information, visit http://www.fimdm.org.
|
