Misrepresentation of mild traumatic brain injury research in press releases

Abstract

Background: Press releases from academic medical centers often form the basis for health and science news stories. Press release coverage of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) research has not been formally appraised in the literature.Objective: To perform a systematic content analysis of mTBI-based press releases. Design: Retrospective database study. Setting: EurekAlert! (eurekalert.org), the main distribution engine for scientific press releases. Participants: Press releases indexed between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2019 containing a minimum of 150 words. Interventions: Pre-established, investigator-generated criteria delineating aspects of misinformation. Main Outcome Measurements: Press releases were evaluated for manifestations of "spin," including misleading title, misleading reporting, misleading claims, and inappropriate extrapolation. Results: Our database search yielded 125 entries within the specified time period. Of these, 66 met inclusion criteria. Fifty-five of 66 (83%) press releases exhibited at least one manifestation of spin. We identified 38 (58%) with misleading titles, 49 (74%) with misleading reporting, 44 (67%) with misleading claims, and 38 (58%) with inappropriate extrapolation. Conclusions: Our analysis revealed a high degree of spin in recent press releases dedicated to mTBI research. The reports often overstated the strengths and practical impact of the study, publicize substandard research without clinical relevance, while downplaying or failing to report limitations and caveats. Misrepresentation in press releases can affect real-life medical decisions and outcomes.