Public Estimates of Cancer Frequency: Cancer Incidence Perceptions Mirror Distorted Media Depictions
| Autor: | Courtney L. Scherr, Christina Jones, Jakob D. Jensen, Ryan J. Hurley, Katheryn R. Christy, Natasha R. Brown |
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| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Health (social science) Adolescent media_common.quotation_subject education Library and Information Sciences Risk Assessment Young Adult Neoplasms Perception Health care Humans Medicine Mass Media Young adult health care economics and organizations Aged media_common Aged 80 and over business.industry Incidence Communication Incidence (epidemiology) Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Cancer social sciences Middle Aged medicine.disease Risk perception Cancer incidence Public Opinion Female Risk assessment business Social psychology Demography |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Health Communication. 19:609-624 |
| ISSN: | 1087-0415 1081-0730 |
| Popis: | Compared with incidence rates, certain cancers are over- or underrepresented in news coverage. Past content analytic research has consistently documented these news distortions, but no study has examined whether they are related to public perception of cancer incidence. Adults (N = 400) completed a survey with questions about perceived cancer incidence, news consumption, and attention to health news. Cancer incidence perceptions paralleled previously documented news distortions. Overrepresented cancers were overestimated (e.g., blood, head/brain) and underrepresented cancers were underestimated (e.g., male reproductive, lymphatic, thyroid, and bladder). Self-reported news consumption was related to perceptual distortions such that heavier consumers were more likely to demonstrate distorted perceptions of four cancers (bladder, blood, breast, and kidney). Distortions in risk perception and news coverage also mirrored discrepancies in federal funding for cancer research. Health care professionals, journalists, and the public should be educated about these distortions to reduce or mitigate potential negative effects on health behavior and decision making. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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