The seductive allure of technical language and its effect on covid-19 vaccine beliefs and intentions

Silas, Jonathan; Jones, Alexander; Weiss‐Cohen, Leonardo; Ayton, Peter

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.11.027

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“… 2 Reporting on health issues can also have positive benefits, an example being the wide reporting of the illness and subsequent death from cervical cancer of the British reality TV star, Jade Goody, which was followed by an upsurge in cancer screening attendances. 3 More recently, research has shown that the language and tone of public health information can have a significant impact on COVID-19 vaccine beliefs and intentions, 4 as well as potentially increasing anxiety and misplaced health-protective behaviours. 5 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Media coverage and speculation about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide: a content analysis of UK news

Marzano

Hawley²,

Fraser³

et al. 2023

BMJ Open

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ObjectivesSince the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been much concern and speculation about rises in suicide rates, despite evidence that suicides did not in fact increase in the first year of the pandemic in most countries with real-time suicide data. This public narrative is potentially harmful, as well as misleading, and is likely to be perpetuated by sensational news coverage.MethodUsing a bespoke database, we analysed the quality and content of print and online UK news (including opinion pieces) on the impact of COVID-19 on suicidality, based on adherence to international recommendations. χ2tests were conducted to examine variability in relation to key characteristics (eg, type of publication) and to four ‘restriction phases’ (based on UK government official lockdown measures) over the first 14 months of the pandemic.ResultsWe identified 372 stories about COVID-19 and suicidality in online and print news between the first UK lockdown (March 2020) and May 2021 (when restrictions were significantly eased in the UK). Throughout this period, over a third of articles (39.2%) and headlines (41.4%) claimed or predicted a rise in suicide, often attributed to feelings of entrapment and poor mental health (especially among young people) and fueled by expert commentary and speculation. Almost a third of reports were rated as being of negative quality (116, 31.2%), and at least half included no signposting to help and support. However, reporting improved in phases of less stringent COVID-19 restrictions and over time, with later articles and headlines including fewer negative statements and predictions about rises in suicides, and greater reliance on academic evidence.ConclusionsAs the longer-term consequences of the pandemic develop, and other national and global events unfold, it is increasingly important that the media, and the wider community of experts shaping its narratives, strive for a positive and evidence-informed approach to news coverage of suicide.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Media coverage and speculation about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide: a content analysis of UK news

Marzano

Hawley²,

Fraser³

et al. 2023

BMJ Open

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Reporting on health issues can also have positive benefits, an example being the wide reporting of the illness and subsequent death from cervical cancer of the British reality TV star, Jade Goodey, which was followed by an upsurge in cancer screening attendances [3]. More recently, research has shown that the language and tone of public health information can have a significant impact on COVID-19 vaccine beliefs and intentions [4], as well as potentially increasing anxiety and misplaced health-protective behaviours [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Media coverage and speculation about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide: A content analysis of UK news

Marzano

Hawley²,

Fraser³

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rationale: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been much concern and speculation about rises in suicide rates, despite evidence that suicides did not in fact increase in the first year of the pandemic in most countries with real-time suicide data. This public narrative is potentially harmful, as well as misleading, and is likely to be perpetuated by sensational news coverage. Method: We conducted a systematic analysis of UK news coverage (including opinion pieces) on the impact of COVID-19 on suicidality, to examine the content and quality of such reporting as the pandemic developed, and as different coronavirus restrictions were imposed. Results: We identified 372 stories about COVID-19 and suicidality in online and print news between the first UK lockdown (March 2020) and May 2021 (when restrictions were significantly eased in the UK). Throughout this period, over a third of articles (39.2%) and headlines (41.4%) claimed or predicted a rise in suicide, often attributed to feelings of entrapment and poor mental health (especially amongst young people), and fueled by expert commentary and speculation. Almost a third of reports were rated as being of poor overall quality (116, 31.2%), and at least half included no signposting to help and support. However, reporting improved in phases of less stringent COVID-19 restrictions and over time, with later articles and headlines including fewer negative statements and predictions about rises in suicides, and greater reliance on academic evidence. Conclusions: As the longer-term consequences of the pandemic develop, and other national and global events unfold, it is increasingly important that the media, and the wider community of experts shaping its narratives, strive for a positive and evidence-informed approach to news coverage of suicide.

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Excluding numeric side-effect information produces lower vaccine intentions

Shoots‐Reinhard

Lawrence

Schulkin

et al. 2022

Vaccine

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The seductive allure of technical language and its effect on covid-19 vaccine beliefs and intentions

Cited by 3 publications

References 35 publications

Media coverage and speculation about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide: a content analysis of UK news

Media coverage and speculation about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide: a content analysis of UK news

Media coverage and speculation about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide: A content analysis of UK news

Excluding numeric side-effect information produces lower vaccine intentions

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