Why Health Reporting is Hot !

8/8/2019 Why Health Reporting is Hot !

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Dr Aniruddha Malpani, MD

HELP Health Education Library for People

www.helpforhealth.org


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y The media is an important source of healthinformation

y Health articles are of lasting valuey They can touch lives positively

yYou have a great power and a great responsibility

yA good health story can make you happy to be a

reporter !


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Healthy Topic of perennial interest great demand

y Not much competition few specialised reporters

y In the US, health reporters are starsy Pulitzer Prize , books and bylines

y US Surgeon General ( Dr Sanjay Gupta)


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mpor an oes no ave o e

dull !

y For many of us, the public service part ofjournalism is why we do what we do. It's what keeps us

in journalism instead of working for a PR firm.y How can you make sure important health stories are

not canned?

y Balancing commercial interests with editorial integrity

- this is the challenge !


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y There have never been more opportunities tocommunicate health news and information

y Theres never been better health journalism than somethat is reported in this country today.


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The challe gey While brevity and immediacy are touchstones of news

reporting, health and medical reporting must include

sufficient context, background and perspective to beunderstandable and useful to audiences/readers.

y Stories that fail to explain how new results or otherannouncements fit within the broader body of

evidence do not serve the interests of the public


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Challe gi g jo !y Health writers are translators

y They transform the jargon-laden language and arcane

concepts of medicine into something the rest of us canunderstand and even appreciate.


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Why is health reporti g so a

to ay ?y How Do US Journalists Cover Treatments, Tests, Products, and

Procedures? An Evaluation of 500 Stories. 2008. PLoS Medicine

y The daily delivery of news stories about new treatments, tests,products, and procedures may have a profoundand perhapsharmfulimpact on health care consumers.

y Journalists usually fail to discuss costs, the quality of the evidence, theexistence of alternative options, and the absolute magnitude ofpotential benefits and harms.

y Reporters and writers have been receptive to the feedback; editors and

managers must be reached if change is to occur.y Time (to research stories), space (in publications and broadcasts), and

training of journalists can provide solutions to many of the journalisticshortcomings identified by the project.


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TV health stories are ill !y A 2002 Gallup poll showed that many Americans consider

televisiontheir most important source of news andinformation on health.

y It also showed that television is one of the least trustedsourcesof such news and information.

y Too brief to matter

y No full time health journalists

yNo data to back up sensational claims

y Hyperbole

y Commercialism

y Single source stories


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Rules ofreporti g have cha ge !y Deadline-pressured, budget-crunched news staffs routinely

use portions of video news releases slickly-produced byvested interests in the health care industry, without telling

the audience that part of what they're seeing is fromslanted sources.

y People are being thrown into this beat soon after gettingtheir "press card," and long before they're able to react withany seasoned judgment.

y The television news industry has reacted to the void inhealth news specialists, scrambling to find anyone to pluginto the spotlight, with an assumed title, and a promotablenew niche.


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Nave Journalistsy Unaggressive in their reporting

y Not critical or skeptical enough

y Over-reliance on official scientific sourcesyJournalists often end up retailing the views of their

sources rather than investigating the evidence behindthose views.


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Puppeteersy Public relations people

y Pharmaceutical or device manufacturers

y Todays physician may be overwhelmed by thepressure to promote himself or herself on the air.


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The SevenWords You Shouldn't

Use in Medical Newsy Cure, miracle, breakthrough, promising, dramatic,

hope and victim.

yI didn't dream up the list; it was given to me by sickpeople I had interviewed over a 30-year career inhealth journalism.

yVeteran health/medical journalist Judy Foreman has

written, "Words are scalpels, every bit as sharp as asurgeon's tools, and sometimes, almost as dangerous."


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10 criteria of a goodstoryy The availability of the

treatment/test/product/procedure

yWhether/how costs are mentioned in the story

y If there is evidence of disease mongering in the story

y Does the story seem to grasp the quality of theevidence?

y How harms of the treatment/test/product/procedureare covered in the story


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10 criteria of a goodstoryy Does the story establish the true novelty of the approach?

y How the benefits of the treatment/test/product/procedure

are framedy Whether the story appeared to rely solely or largely on a

news release

y Is there an independent source and were any possibleconflicts of interests of sources disclosed in the article?

y Whether alternative treatment/test/product/procedureoptions are mentioned


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What would my motherdo ?y On the basis of my news account, what would my

mother do or assume about a given medical

intervention ?

y Remember the reader is not an idiot the reader isyour wife ! ( David Ogilvy).


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Why is health reporting so ad

today ?y Lack of time

y Lack of space

y Lack of knowledgey Competition

y Difficulties with medical terms

y Problems finding and using sources

y Problems with editors

y Commercialism


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The media and healthy Medical heroes

y New procedures

y New researchy Latest

y AIDS

y IVF

y Cancery Heart disease

y Celebrity illnesses


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The media and healthy Medical villains

y Greedy doctors hungry for money


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Challengesy Medical science can be complex to understand and

to explain !

y

Doctors are not good communicators !y Speak Greek difficult to explain this to laypeople

y Tend to sensationalise because its easier to do this

y Space limits


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Doctors v/s Journalistsy Doctors often treat reporters with suspicion

y Can also be publicity hungry

y Conflicts of interestyJournalists and doctors: different aims, similar

constraints


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Doctor v/sDoctory Doctors can be very political

y Can be very competitive !

y Bad-mouth each other


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Suggestionsy Provide background

yAsk questions !

y Need contexty Dont get intimidated by the expert !

y KISS


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Cultivate doctorsy Big egos

y Learn to think like a doctor does !

y Empathy is keyy Doctors are busy people; and dont suffer fools gladly;

expert in a narrow area; may not be articulate

y May not understand your deadline or constraints.

Educate them !


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Covering medical conferencesyYou translate medical research into news.

y Research presented at scientific meetings receives

prominent media attention. The public has a strongdesire toknow about the latest developments inscience and medicine

y Press coverage is attractive to the sponsors of the

meetings, the scientists, their institutionsy Win- win ?


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Covering medical conferencesy Scientific meetings are intended to provide a forum for

researchers to present new work to colleagues; thework presented is preliminary.

y The presentations representwork in progress. Manyprojects fail to liveup to their early promise.

y Press coverage at a premature stage may leave thepublic with the false impression that the findings are

widely accepted.yAs a consequence, patients may experience undue

hope or anxiety or may seek unproved, useless, or evendangerous tests and treatments.


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Making sense of medical jargon


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Quality of answersdependsupon

quality of questionsy Whyis there a need for a new therapy?

y How is the new therapysupposed to workdifferentlythan others?

y How long has it been studied?

y In how manypeople?

y In how manymice?

y

What is known so far?yAnd finally the most important question what

is not known? Careful researchers and carefuljournalists always answer that last one.


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What we can and can't expect

from 'experts' in the mediay Petra Boynton

y The most easily accessible 'expert' may not be the best

qualified.y What an expert can discuss.

y What an expert can not discuss.

yA checklist to help judge the credentials of an 'expert'.

yA list of doctors and professional bodies to help findexperts.


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How to spot PR asedresearch !y PR companies have caught on to a new way to sell

stories to the press research.

y The media are frequently sent press releases about theresults of a shocking or surprising new study.

y PR companies are media savvy great stories for lazyreporters !

y Their quality may be questionable.

y Often just an exercise in headline grabbingy Dont get manipulated and misled you need to

protect your readers


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Dont ecome a akraa !y Be well-read

y Be sceptical

y Look for backgroundy Do your homework

y Be willing to read and study it gets easier with time !

y Check and re-check

y Dont get carried away

y Check with other experts

y Look for balance


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uropean ea u e nes


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uropean ea u e nes

for Professional Healt

Correspondentsy 1. First, try to do no harm. Human rights and the public

good are paramount.

y 2. Get it right. Check your facts and your sources, even if

deadlines are put at risk.y 3. Do not raise false hopes. Be especially careful when

reporting on claims for 'miracle cures' or potential 'healthscares'.

y 4. Beware of vested interests. Ask yourself 'who benefitsmost from this story?'

y 5. Reject personal inducements. Always make it clear ifmaterial is being published as a result of sponsorship.

uropean ea u e nes


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uropean ea u e nes

for Professional Healt

Correspondentsy 6. Never disclose the source of information imparted

in confidence.

y

7. Respect the privacy of the sick, the handicapped andtheir families at all times.

y 8. Be mindful of the consequences of your story.Patients who may be sick or handicapped have lives to

live long after the media have lost interest.y 9. Never intrude on private grief.

y 10. If in doubt, leave it out.


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Reportersreal world viewpointy "Scientists expect us to include every counter story, every

caveat, but you dont have that luxury as a journalist. Andyour stories are competing with every other field of humanknowledge. The person I have in mind when I write a storyis the man who is only two clicks away from a story aboutthe latest antics of Britney Spears."

y You live in a bubble. Newspapers are imploding, we arestruggling to deal with virtually no resources and increaseddemand for content and you offer no insight into how to

produce quality stories under the circumstances. In aperfect world, we would all gladly embrace your guidelines,but it's far from a perfect world and you're obviously notacknowledging that.


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Useful toolsy Google

y Mailing lists

y News alertsy RSS feeds

y Use technology cleverly to improve your efficiency !


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Pro lems areasy Medicolegal

y Medical negligence

yAlternative mediciney Quacks

y Cutting edge of research

y Corporate hospitals and pharm companies

( spin experts)


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Making sense of the medical

literaturey Medical journal articles

y Abstracts

y Full texts

Original articles

Review articles

Editorials

y Medical text books

y Good health writers are

good health readers !

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ow o r c our

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y Publication.What type of journal is the studypublishedin? Is the topic of the studyappropriate for the journal?

y Authors.Who are the authors of the article, and what aretheir credentials? Do the authors' credentials correspondto the subject matter?

y Funding.Who sponsored the study? Does the sponsorstand to gain from a specific outcome? Is there a potentialconflict of interest?

y Title. Is the title descriptive or assertive? Does it accuratelyreflect the purpose, design, results, and conclusion of thestudy?

y Abstract. Does the abstract adequatelysummarize themain text of the article? Are the data and conclusionconsistent withwhat's presented in the main text?

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rticl

y Introduction.Whywas the studyconducted, and what clinicalquestion orhypothesis do the authors address? How does thisstudyfit into the context of previous research conducted on thesubject?

y

Methods.What is the design of the study? Are all of the itemsused in the studycompletelyexplained?Who are the subjects?How were theychosen?What are the inclusion criteria to beaccepted into the study?What are the exclusion criteria to beexcluded from the study? How large is the sample? Is thepopulation being studied appropriate for the questionresearchers are looking to answer?

y Results. Are the results statisticallysignificant? Are theyclinicallysignificant?

y Discussion. Are the keyconclusions supported bythe results? Arethere anyother ways to explain the data that the authorshave notlisted? Do the authors detail the limitations of their work?

y References

y Do the authors back up their statements with appropriatereferences? Do the authors cite their own revious work?


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Tipsy Create an expert panel of doctors

yAsk doctors in a different field for their opinion. More

likely to get an unbiased opiniony Medical college doctors can be reliable and are usually

unbiased

y Medical librarians are information specialists

y UseWeb 2.0 for global networkingy Materials written for patients can be very useful in

helping you make sense of technical minutiae


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Futurey Web reporting


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Documents

Why Health Reporting is Hot !