This article presents findings from the first study of cancer news coverage in a national sample of Black and general-audience newspapers. We compared 2,439 health news stories from 23 weekly Black newspapers to 2,767 health news stories from a constructed week sample of 12 daily general-audience newspapers, both collected between April 1, 2004, and March 31, 2005. Analyses examined differences in the amount and nature of cancer coverage, specifically cancer sites, disparities, localization, and personally mobilizing health information for readers. Cancer was the main topic in a higher proportion of health stories in Black newspapers than in general-audience newspapers (13.6% vs. 9.6%; p = .001). Among cancer stories, those in Black newspapers had more localization (p = .004), disparity information (p = .001), and personal mobilization information (p = .001) than those in general-audience newspapers. In neither type of newspaper did the distribution of stories by cancer site accurately reflect the impact of different cancers on population mortality.
News media are an important and influential part of the social environment, calling attention to certain issues by the amount and nature of their coverage. To better understand how health behaviors are covered, we examined more than 80,000 stories in 1,354 newspaper issues from four midsize Missouri communities. Health behavior stories were rare. Of 1,373 stories (1.7%) that addressed diet, physical activity, or tobacco, few were prominently located in the paper, and only half had a primary prevention focus. A large majority had no local angle, local quotes, or call to action for individuals or the community, and only 10% were generated by local reporters. Because the local newspaper can be especially influential in smaller communities, strategies are needed to help reporters and editors in these settings provide more and better coverage of health behavior-related stories.
IntroductionThe expansion of mobile health technologies, particularly for diabetes-related applications (apps), grew exponentially in the past decade. This study sought to examine the extent to which current mobile apps for diabetes have health literate features recommended by participants in an Institute of Medicine Roundtable and compare the health literate features by app cost (free or not).MethodsWe used diabetes-related keywords to identify diabetes-related apps for iOS devices. A random sample of 110 apps (24% of total number of apps identified) was selected for coding. The coding scheme was adapted from the discussion paper produced by participants in the Institute of Medicine Roundtable.ResultsMost diabetes apps in this sample addressed diabetes management and therapeutics, and paid apps were more likely than free apps to use plain language strategies, to label links clearly, and to have at least 1 feature (a “back” button) that helps with the organization.ConclusionPaid apps were more likely than free apps to use strategies that should be more useful and engaging for people with low health literacy. Future work can investigate ways to make free diabetes mobile apps more user-friendly and accessible.
U.S. smokers' reactions to graphic warning labels on their own packs were similar to other, more controlled studies. Qualitative findings underscore the need for warning labels that encourage self-referential processing without increasing defensive reactions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.