'Life-changing surgery': English-language news media representation of selective dorsal rhizotomy.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) is a neurosurgical intervention to reduce spasticity in children with cerebral palsy. Parents researching SDR for their child may be influenced by framing of SDR in news media articles they read. This study examined framing of SDR in English-language news media. METHODS: Content analysis of English-language news media articles including the search term 'rhizotomy' in the Factiva database published July 2015 to July 2018 in online or print form in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, United States of America and the United Kingdom. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-six articles were identified describing 91 different children (45 male), almost all with cerebral palsy, median age 4 years old. One hundred and twenty-six articles were written prior to surgery; in many articles, SDR surgery involved travel overseas and/or fundraising. SDR was described universally in positive terms with little discussion of risks. Content of articles variably included the specialized nature of SDR, parental frustration with their local health system and their hope for positive outcomes. There was geographical variation in both numbers of articles and content. CONCLUSIONS: SDR is a common focus in cerebral palsy news media articles in some countries. Framing in these articles supports SDR as a beneficial and specialized procedure and may lead families to believe they need to work outside their local health systems. As news media are likely an important influence on families' attitudes to SDR, clinicians should be aware of this influence.