Instructional Health-Risk Communication: A Content Analysis of Vaping-Associated Lung Injury Outbreak Coverage in U.S. College Newspapers

ABSTRACT

This study examined instructional health-risk communication involving the outbreak of e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI). Using the IDEA model, we investigated how U.S. college newspapers communicated health risk messages during the vaping outbreak. Our analysis of 331 news articles showed that college newspapers placed greater emphasis on explanation of the EVALI outbreak than internalization and action messages. The findings also revealed that news sources played a significant role in communicating instructional health risk messages. Specifically, news stories that included expert sources were more likely to communicate CDC-recommended action messages. The findings have significant implications for designing instructional health-risk communication and anti-smoking interventions tailored to specific populations.

KEYWORDS:

• Vaping outbreak
• IDEA model
• instructional risk communication
• student journalism
• college newspapers

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2024.2363276

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Najma Akhther

Najma Akhther, MA, MSS, is a Ph.D. candidate in the Communication program at Wayne State University and an Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Jahangirnagar University in Bangladesh. Her research examines strategic communication processes in the areas of health, risk, and science, especially concerning the health outcomes of marginalized communities. Najma’s research has been published in reputable journals, such as Mass Communication and Society, Communication Studies, Journalism Practice, Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research, Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, Journal of Death and Dying, among others.

Khairul Islam

Khairul Islam (Ph.D., Wayne State University) is an Assistant Professor of Public Relations at the State University of New York at Oswego. His research focuses on strategic crisis and emergency risk communication. His work has been featured in several peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Business Ethics, Health Communication, Scientific Reports, the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, Communication Studies, The Learning Organization, and the Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research, among others.