‘We report the world as it is, not as we want it to be’: Journalists’ negotiation of professional practices and responsibilities when reporting on suicide

Journalism ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 1283-1299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Mead Yaqub ◽  
Randal A Beam ◽  
Sue Lockett John
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Health Issue ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Truth Telling ◽  
Full Disclosure ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
The Public ◽  
Attitudes Toward Suicide

Media coverage of suicide can play a pivotal role in raising public awareness of an important public health issue. But research suggests that reporting on suicide can potentially trigger suicidal behavior in vulnerable individuals. To encourage the responsible reporting of suicide as a public health issue, media recommendations have been developed. Based on interviews with 50 US journalists, this study explores journalists’ awareness of and attitudes toward suicide reporting risks and US media recommendations. Through the lens of suicide news reporting, this is a study examining how journalists view their professional roles and sense of social responsibility when reporting on issues, like suicide, with potential public health consequences. We find that while the journalists interviewed want to cover suicide responsibly, and as a public health issue, they often deviate from recommendations. In many cases, professional conventions and routines conflict with or hinder guideline compliance. Moreover, many journalists deliberately disregard suicide reporting guidelines because they clash with their professional values and perceived responsibility of serving the public via truth-telling and full disclosure of information.

Public Support for Drunk-Driving Countermeasures: Social Policy for Saving Lives

1995 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon K. Applegate ◽  
Francis T. Cullen ◽  
Shannon M. Barton ◽  
Pamela J. Richards ◽  
Lonn Lanza-Kaduce ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Drunk Driving ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Community Survey ◽  
Health Issue ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Criminal Punishment ◽  
The Public

In recent years, calls have gone out for increased certainty and severity of criminal punishment as a means to reduce or control drunk driving. A number of scholars, however, have suggested that alternative policies, which address drunk driving as a public health issue rooted in social institutions, would be more effective in reducing the prevalence of and damage done by drinking drivers. The question remains as to what approaches the public will support. Based on a community survey, this study found that the public endorsed reducing drunk driving through legal deterrence and rehabilitation, but that citizens also were willing to support several socially based interventions.

scholarly journals A scorecard for local body election candidates in New Zealand

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
P Stone
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
District Health ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
The Public

Abstract Local elections are held every 3 years in NZ for District Health Boards (DHB). The public has low capability to scrutinise candidates for their knowledge/experience in public health governance. As a result, there is low voting turn-out for elections. So, 3 PHA branches developed scorecards for 2019 candidates. Our aims addressed 3 problems: 1. How to raise public awareness about local DHB elections 2. How to engage voters and provide them with information about candidates from a public health perspective 3.Can we encourage candidates to discuss public health issues/ preventative measures publicly. We hoped to promote democracy by increasing informed voter turnout. Scorecards were based on candidates' responses to a survey with 3 dimensions: alignment with public health values; health sector governance experience; views on a specific public health issue (water fluoridation). Survey responses were scored by panels of branch members. Southern branch sent the survey to 28 DHB candidates across 2 DHBs, and 24 replied in time. Wellington branch sent it to 23 CCDHB candidates and 16 replied in time. Canterbury's response rate was just over 50%, 11 of 21 surveys were returned. We produced scorecards for results in formats for printing and sharing online. We shared them on PHA's website, social media and featured them in the e-newsletter. Each branch launched them at local Meet the DHB Candidate events where hundreds of paper copies were distributed. There was good online interest in the scorecards: 3453 previews, 287 downloads for further printing/distribution. Many candidates committed, if elected, to policy solutions presented them at our events. There was significant increase (684 in Southern, 698 in Wellington, 2006 in Canterbury) in DHB voter turnout in 2019, compared to last election with no scorecards. Not all top-scoring candidates were subsequently elected onto respective DHBs, but for Wellington and Southland all elected had high scores. Key messages PHANZ plays a role in supporting NZ democracy by filling a gap in public information about election candidates, whether they are fit for purpose when scrutinised through the public health lens. Election Scorecard are effective for raising public awareness, providing scrutiny of the candidates from a public health perspective, encouraging candidates to consider public health issues.

The public health issue of ACEs in Canada

2020 ◽  
pp. 185-207
Author(s):  
Lil Tonmyr ◽  
Joanne Lacroix ◽  
Margret Herbert
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Issue ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
The Public

scholarly journals Framing autism in newspaper media: an example from Finland

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Henri Pesonen ◽  
Tiina Itkonen ◽  
Mari Saha ◽  
Anders Nordahl-Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
News Story ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Stories

Purpose Media play a significant role in the process of raising public awareness about autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite an increase in ASD media coverage, there is scarcity of research that examines how the actual frame is constructed and how the news stories are narrated. This study aims to examine the extent to which Finnish print media papers extend medical and societal narration of ASD to other issue domains and the extent to which newspaper stories use a positive, negative or neutral narrative. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyzed 210 full newspaper reports from the largest daily appearing newspaper by circulation in Finland from 1990 to 2016. The authors used the newspaper’s electronic database to conduct a systematic papers search. The authors then used coding scheme about news story framing, which was followed by a detailed content analysis of the papers. Findings Approximately two-thirds of the papers consisted of a straightforward informational or clinical lens to educate the public (n = 110). This is in line with international studies. However, the authors’ analysis revealed four additional themes of medical and societal ASD reporting. Social implications The study increases understanding about how the media can shape the public perception of ASD, which in turn might influence how autistic individuals are accepted in the society, as well as how they feel that they belong. Originality/value While ASD itself is at the center of neutral news reporting, this study’s results imply how to construct ASD from new paradigms. Linking ASD to a culture, and thus extending it to the more commonly accepted notion of deafness as a culture, might shape the public’s perceptions about ASD.

Primary Aldosteronism: Where Are We Now? Where to from Here?

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (06) ◽  
pp. 459-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Watson Funder
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Primary Aldosteronism ◽  
Health Issue ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Current Management ◽  
The Public ◽  
Steroid Profiles ◽  
Unilateral Disease ◽  
Bottle Neck ◽  
Current Guidelines

AbstractThe past nine years have seen major advances in establishing the etiology of unilateral primary aldosteronism, and very possibly that of bilateral hyperaldosteronism, in response to somatic mutations in aldosterone synthase expressing cells. Though there have been important advances in the management of primary aldosteronism, in small but convincing studies, they represent minor changes to current guidelines. What has been totally absent is consideration of the public health issue that primary aldosterone represents, and the public policy issues that would be involved in addressing the disorder. In his introduction to PiPA 6, Martin Reincke calculated that only one in a thousand patients in Germany with primary aldosteronism were treated appropriately, an astounding figure for any disease in the 21st century. Towards remedying this totally unacceptable public health issue, the author proposes a radical simplification and streamlining of screening for primary aldosteronism, and the management of most patients by general practitioners. The second bottle-neck in current management is that of mandatory adrenal venous sampling for all but 1–2% of patients, a costly procedure requiring rare expertise. Ideally, it should be reserved – on the basis of likelihood, enhanced imaging, or peripheral steroid profiles – for a small minority of patients with clear evidence for unilateral disease. Only when costs are minimized and roadblocks removed will primary aldosteronism be properly treated as the public health issue that it is.

The Relationships Between Personality Traits and Public Stigma Attached to Families Bereaved Due To Suicide

2021 ◽  
pp. 003022282110291
Author(s):  
Michael Weinberg ◽  
Michal Soffer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Openness To Experience ◽  
Health Issue ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Public Stigma ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Big 5 ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Relationship

Suicide is a serious global public-health issue that is perceived as the most stigmatizing of sudden losses. Most studies on this topic have examined how bereaved families perceive public stigma, paying less attention to the actual stigma experienced by those not directly bereaved. Therefore, this study examined the association between personality traits and the public stigma attached to families that have lost a member to suicide. Three hundred and eighty ( N = 380) Israeli participants completed demographic, Big 5, and stigma questionnaires. The study findings demonstrate that neuroticism and openness to experience are associated with higher levels of public stigma, while conscientiousness is associated with lower levels of public stigma. In addition, Arab participants reported higher levels of public stigma than Jewish participants. These findings make an important contribution to our understanding of the relationship between personality traits and the public stigma attached to families that have lost a member to suicide.

scholarly journals Policing with a public health lens – Moving towards an understanding of crime as a public health issue

2021 ◽  
pp. 0032258X2110095
Author(s):  
Sandra M Bucerius ◽  
Temitope B Oriola ◽  
Daniel J Jones
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Issue ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Systemic Racism ◽  
Educational Levels ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The Public ◽  
Trauma Informed ◽  
New Recruits ◽  
The University

Policing organizations are currently experiencing more pressure than ever to address systemic racism and police brutality. Advocates and academics have suggested a range of changes, such as defunding the police, moving towards more body-worn cameras, ensuring higher educational levels of new recruits, implicit bias training, and so on. Our article draws attention and advocates for a different avenue: moving our understanding of crime towards a public health issue. By drawing on some data from the University of Alberta Prison Project, we argue that looking at justice clients with a public health lens would significantly change the way police are trained and respond to incidents. We believe this would have monumental consequences for both justice clients and policing organizations: justice clients will benefit from a police service that is trauma informed, compassionate, and understands their client base, while policing organizations will arguably increase their trust relationship with the public, therefore building legitimacy in the community.

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