Swedish Mental Health Nurses’ Experiences of Portrayals of Mental Illness in Public Media

Abstract

News reporting about mental illness lack perspectives of the mentally ill themselves and it is almost exclusively psychiatrists who are accessed when healthcare staff is consulted. The perspective of mental health nurses might contribute to the public understanding of mental illness. The purpose of this study was to describe mental health nurses' experiences of how mental illness is portrayed in media. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with qualified mental health nurses. A qualitative content analysis resulted in three categories: Negative portrayals of mental illness, Inconclusive images of mental illness and Biased dissemination of different perspectives. The conclusion of this study is that mental health nurses experience media portrayals of mental illness as negative and misleading with too much emphasis on the medical perspective while a holistic mental health nursing perspective is heavily obscured. Mental health nurses need to take a more prominent role in public reporting on mental health to resolve the current lack of relevant facts regarding mental illness. Further research is needed regarding portrayals of mental illness in social media and how the current lack of perspectives affects public perceptions of mental illness. In addition, further studies regarding the viewpoints of journalists reporting on mental illness are required.

Past, present and future impact of social media on health workers’ mental health: a text mining approach

“…Topic 5 (Public media) is related to the experience of mental health workers on social network about mental health. Liljeqvist et al (2020) (posterior probability = 0.5890) analyzed the experiences of Swedish nurses, describing how mental illness is depicted in the media through the eyes of mental health nurses with eight semi-structured interviews with certified mental health nurses being performed. A qualitative content analysis revealed three categories: negative depictions of mental illness, inconclusive images of mental illness and skewed distribution of varied opinions.…”

Stigma in the media: Investigating journalism students attitudes towards mental illness

“…Hoyle et al (2017, p.588) argue the nursing discipline in fact 'sits at the intersection of managerial and media shifts', as both arbiters and advocates of decision-making surrounding health issues. Yet, it is the mental health nurse who may contribute greatly to understandings of mental illness, as well as mental health services (Liljeqvist et al 2019). In this regard, nursing and journalism professionals may be viewed as similar, able to exert dominance using their knowledge of health in order to influence public opinion (Conrad & Stults 2010).…”

“…Yet, it is the mental health nurse who may contribute greatly to understandings of mental illness, as well as mental health services (Liljeqvist et al . 2019). In this regard, nursing and journalism professionals may be viewed as similar, able to exert dominance using their knowledge of health in order to influence public opinion (Conrad & Stults 2010).…”