neglected diseases in the news a content analysis of recent international media coverage focussing on leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis被忽视疾病的新闻内容分析最近的国际媒体报道关注利什曼病和锥虫病.pdfVIP

Neglected Diseases in the News: A Content Analysis of Recent International Media Coverage Focussing on Leishmaniasis and Trypanosomiasis 1 2 1 1 Mangai Balasegaram *, Sooria Balasegaram , Denis Malvy , Pascal Millet ´ ` ´ ´ 1 Centre Rene Labusquiere EA 3677, Bases Therapeutiques des Inflammations et des Infections, Universite Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France, 2 Health Protection Agency, North East and Central London HPU, London, United Kingdom Abstract Background: Although the pharmaceutical industry’s ‘‘neglect’’ of neglected tropical diseases (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 diseases’’ 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 informants 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 leishm