RESUMO
AIM: To date there has been no assessment of the educational content of colorectal newspaper articles. We aimed to analyse articles in the print media concerning colorectal cancer for their public health content. METHOD: Articles mentioning colorectal cancer in the top 10 UK newspapers were analysed over a 1-year period for their educational content. The number of articles mentioning 'red flag' symptoms, celebrity connections or specific cancer charities was recorded. RESULTS: Of the 349 articles identified, 146 were not relevant. Of the remaining 203 articles, 62 (30%) were concerned with celebrities with colon cancer, 13 (6.4%) made reference to red flag symptoms and 14 (6.9%) mentioned cancer charities by name. CONCLUSION: About 13% of newspaper articles have any educational content. If this increased, the general public might benefit.
Assuntos
Neoplasias Colorretais/diagnóstico , Neoplasias Colorretais/prevenção & controle , Informação de Saúde ao Consumidor , Jornais como Assunto , Instituições de Caridade , Pessoas Famosas , Humanos , Educação de Pacientes como Assunto , Reino UnidoRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Knowledge and understanding of disease can influence time to presentation and potentially, therefore, cancer survival rates. The media is one of the most important sources of public health information and it influences the awareness and perception of cancer. It is not known if the reportage of cancer by the media is representative to the true incidence of disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The top 10 UK daily newspapers were assessed over a 1-year period for the 10 most common UK cancers via their on-line search facilities. RESULTS: Of the 5832 articles identified, there was marked over-representation of breast, kidney and stomach cancer with ratios of prevalence to reporting of 1.4, 1.9 and 3.2 to 1, respectively. Colorectal, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, bladder and oesophageal cancers are all markedly under-represented with ratios of 0.4, 0.2, 0.6 and 0.4 to 1, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A policy of media advocacy by health professionals could enhance the information provided by the media and thus reflect the true extent of disease. A partnership between health professionals and journalists could result in articles that are relevant to the population, informative and in a style and format that is easily comprehendible. Targeted public health information could highlight the 'red-flag' symptoms and break down any stigma associated with cancer. This enhanced awareness could improve the health-seeking behaviour of the general population and reduce the delay from symptoms to diagnosis.