Messages about Antibiotic Resistance in Different Newspaper Genres

Abstract

Poorer people are more likely to use antibiotics; inappropriate antibiotic use causes resistance, and health campaigns attempt to change behaviour through education. However, fuelled by the media, the public think antibiotic resistance is outside their control. Differences in the attribution of blame for antibiotic resistance in two genres of UK newspapers, targeting distinct socioeconomic groups, were examined using a mixed methods approach. Firstly, depiction of blame was categorised as either external to the lay public (outside their control) or internal (lay person accountable) and subjected to a chi-square test. Secondly, using critical discourse analysis, we examined the portrayal of the main agents through newspaper language. Data from 597 articles (307 broadsheets) analysed revealed a significant association between newspaper genre and attribution of blame for antibiotic resistance. While both newspaper types blamed antibiotic resistance predominantly on factors external to the lay public, broadsheets were more likely to acknowledge internal factors than tabloids. Tabloids provided a more skewed representation, exposing readers to inaccurate explanations about antibiotic resistance. They highlighted ineptitude in health professionals, victimising patients and blaming others, while broadsheets used less emotive language. Pharmacists should take special care to communicate the importance of appropriate antibiotic use against this backdrop of distortion.

Communicating antimicrobial resistance and stewardship in the national press: Lessons from sepsis awareness campaigns

“…AMR was presented as a global issue, driven by multiple sectors, whose main health impact will be in the future. The need for co-ordinated actions between policymakers and healthcare, farming and pharmaceutical industries was highlighted, consistent with previous analyses of newspaper reporting of AMR that identified a focus on societal over individual solutions 16 – 18 . In contrast, sepsis was most often presented in the context of its current impact within UK healthcare, driven by both systemic and individual failings in diagnosis and management.…”

“…If UK newspapers’ constructions of sepsis influence individuals’ perceptions of risk, they may drive demand for unnecessary antimicrobial treatment, with implications for antimicrobial stewardship. Previous analyses of media representations of AMR identified a focus on the importance of societal over individual solutions 16, 17, 18. No previous analyses of media reporting of sepsis have been identified.…”

Assessment of General Public’s Knowledge and Opinions towards Antibiotic Use and Bacterial Resistance: A Cross-Sectional Study in an Urban Setting, Rufisque, Senegal

“…According to the WHO, many patients do not complete the prescribed treatment [17]. Misinformation, saving antibiotic for later, response to advertising are other factors contributing to bacterial resistance [22].…”

Understanding media publics and the antimicrobial resistance crisis

“…Outside clinical settings where public health communications are dependent on media technologies and practices (Hawkings, Wood, & Butler, 2007), AMR messaging is subject to significant complexity. For example, news media are seen to convey authority and new information (Brown & Crawford, 2009), but they may also undermine AMR interventions because they promote messages of blame and social decline (Donyai, Okafor, Virgo, Amin, & Nasr, 2013). This tension imbues communications strategies with the 'Goldilocks' problem, as Briggs and Nichter put it (2009, p. 191); that is, settling on the 'just right' styling of messages that support health goals without compromising them.…”