Mediated Medication-Risk Messages: A Content Analysis of Print News Coverage of Increased Medication Risk

Abstract

The social amplification of risk framework approaches risk as a combination of the objective risk of physical harm and the process through which individuals interpret the hazard. Within that framework, this study included a content analysis of media coverage of a changed risk profile of prescription medication. Considering frequency of news coverage as one cue to audience attention, results indicate that veterans as an at-risk population garner more media attention than children as an at-risk population. The concept of amplification was associated with an amplifying lead, the use of narrative, the identification of children as the at-risk population, and article length.

Keywords:

• Communication Theory
• Health Communication
• Mass Communication

Acknowledgments

This article is not subject to US copyright law. I acknowledge Marianne C. Booth for her commitment and perseverance throughout the data collection and coding processes, and Dr. Kathy Rowan for her valuable comments on an early draft of this manuscript.

Notes

Note. SSRI = selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

^a Tested with one-way analysis of variance.

^b Tested with chi-square cross-tabulations.

Note. FDA = Food and Drug Administration; SSRI = selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; VA = (Department of) Veterans' Affairs.

Note. SSRI = selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

^a Tested with chi-square cross-tabulations.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christy J. W. Ledford

Christy J. W. Ledford (Ph.D., George Mason University, 2011) is an assistant professor in Biomedical Informatics at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The views expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.