Emergence of Lyme disease as a social problem: analysis of discourse using the media content

Abstract

Background Chronic Lyme disease (LD) is a matter of debate worldwide and has emerged as a social problem. We aim to analyze the media content and describe the transformation process of a collective pain into a social problem in France. Methods Using social science methodology, a corpus of articles from 20 newspapers and videos from seven major TV stations from 1987 to 2017 were analyzed for discourse content. The speaking times and the frequency of interventions between doctors supporting the official guidelines and those against them were compared using the Mann–Whitney test and the Chi-square test, respectively. Results In France, the media discourse is carried through testimonials from patient organizations and a professor of infectiology who acted as a whistleblower (WB). We showed that the emergence of the LD alert in the media corresponds to the process described by social sciences as ‘naming, blaming, claiming’. Since his first article in 2014, the WB has featured in 24% (22/89) of newspaper articles compared with 20% (18/89) for doctors defending the official guidelines (P = 0.52). Since his first appearance on a TV newscast in 2014, the WB has appeared in 45% (22/49) of news reports on LD with 24% of the speaking time compared with 22% (11/49) for doctors defending the official guidelines (P = 0.018). Conclusions Media coverage of LD has been unbalanced since 2014 and promotes associations as well as the WB, who seems to be better identified than any of the different doctors defending the official guidelines.

Increased awareness and knowledge of Lyme Borreliosis and tick bite prevention among the general population in France: 2016 and 2019 health barometer survey

“…LB is also an increasing societal issue in France and the subject of public debates and sometimes controversies, particularly with regard to persisting post-treatment symptoms and the existence of a chronic version of LB. As a result, media coverage of LB has increased over the last few years, with many articles highlighting the different points of view of the scientific community, health authorities, health professionals, and patient advocacy groups [32]. This increased media coverage might also have had a positive impact on the general population's level of awareness about ticks and tick bites and their knowledge about preventive measures.…”

The social representations of diagnosing Lyme disease

“…Therefore, the French LD diagnosis representations were shaped through the comparison with the German ones. Furthermore, the media coverage about LD controversy in France has been boosted by the publication of the “Plan national de lutte contre la maladie de Lyme” (National Plan against Lyme disease) [ 44 ], launcher by the French Health Minister in 2016 [ 45 ].…”

Epidemiology of Lyme Borreliosis in France in Primary Care and Hospital Settings, 2010–2019

“…The increase observed in 2016 could have resulted from rising awareness of LB in France during this period, for example, the annual number of Google search engine requests for “Lyme” increased rapidly from 2014 to 2016 (Google, 2022 ). Similarly, print and TV media coverage of LB peaked in 2016 (Pascal et al, 2020 ). This may have increased knowledge in the general population of early LB manifestations and encouraged patients to seek medical care.…”