Neglected diseases in the news: A content analysis of recent international media coverage focussing on leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis

Mangai Balasegaram*, Sooria Balasegaram, Denis Malvy, Pascal Millet

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    27 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: Although the pharmaceutical industry's "neglect" of neglected tropical disease (NTDs) has been investigated, no study evaluating media coverage of NTDs has been published. Poor media coverage exacerbates the neglect. This study aimed to investigate, describe, and analyse international media coverage of "neglected disease" in general and three specific NTDs - African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease - from 1 January 2003 to 1 June 2007. Methods: Archives of 11 leading international, English-language media were searched. A content analysis was done, coding for media organisation, date, author, type of report, slant, themes, and "frames". Semi-structured interviews with journalists and key informations were conducted for further insight. Principal Findings: Only 113 articles in a 53-month time period met the inclusion criteria, with no strong trends or increases in coverage. Overall, the BBC had the highest coverage with 20 results, followed by the Financial Times and Agence France Presse. CNN had the least coverage with one result. The term "neglected diseases" had good media currency and "sleeping sickness" was far more widely used than trypanosomiasis. The disease most covered was leishmaniasis and the least covered was Chagas. Academic researches were most commonly quoted as a main source, while the World Health Organization (WHO) and pharmaceutical industry were the least quoted. Journalists generally agreed NTDs had not been adequately covered, but said a lack of real news development and the need to cater to domestic audiences were major obstacles for NTD reporting. All journalists said health agencies, particularly WHO, were not communicating adequtely about the burden of NTDs. Conclusions: Public health agencies need to raise priority for NTD advocacy. Innovative strategies, such as reporting grants or creating a network of voices, may be needed.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article numbere234
    JournalPLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
    Volume2
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - May 2008

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    In the market-driven setting of today's media, more innovative strategies may be needed. The same commercial context that constrains drug development of NTDs also curbs global health reporting, particularly in the American media. Just as public-private partnerships have transformed the landscape of drug development, some public-private funding may be needed to bring insightful, in-depth reporting on NTDs from the field to the pages of Western newspapers. Many fellowships, grants and awards are already available to promote reporting in certain fields. The Kaiser Family Foundation supports HIV/AIDS reporting projects and offers international health fellowships while Harvard University recently started Nieman fellowships in global health reporting, with a US$1 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

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