Section 5: Media Epidemics
Impacts:
Positive
Contents:
B:
The impact that media coverage of epidemic diseases can have is varied. It will depend on the type of coverage and the disease. It will also vary across different countries and groups of people. For example, governments in some countries have tight controls on the media, limiting what they can discuss, so people get a one-sided view of the issues.
Even in countries where the media is free from governmental restrictions, different media types may present different views. For example, different newspapers have different political views. This means that if someone is only exposed to one media type (e.g. only reads one newspaper or only watches one TV channel) they may only get part of the whole story.
This page and the next page outline some of the positive and negative impacts which may be caused by media coverage of an epidemic.
The media is a prime way in which large portions of the population can be accessed at the same time. Because of this, the media has been used as a way of raising awareness about different epidemic diseases and educating people about the ways in which these diseases are spread.
For example, the media formed the main means by which the British government aimed to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in the 1980s. Millions of pounds were spent on advertising campaigns, including one called ‘don't die of ignorance'. This campaign aimed to raise awareness about the ways in which people could prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS through behaviour change, e.g. the use of condoms.
Initially there was great resistance to these campaigns, as some people believed that talking about sex in such an open way was not acceptable. But in the long term, one of the main positive impacts of these campaigns is that it has become acceptable to talk about sex and contraception and this in itself has helped in controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STIs.
The media is also used to raise awareness of non-epidemic health issues such as the recent campaigns about the dangers of smoking which have involved adverts on bill boards, in magazines, on radio and on television.
These campaigns can be very powerful in fighting diseases, especially those such as HIV/AIDS or smoking related illnesses which can be controlled through behavioural change.
In addition to this, raising awareness of diseases which can be vaccinated against, such as mumps may encourage people to be vaccinated, therefore preventing infection.
Media health education campaigns can also be important in raising awareness about signs and symptoms of diseases, as this may encourage people to seek medical help. For example, there have been numerous media campaigns which aim to educate people about how to identify meningitis and the importance of seeking immediate medical help if you suspect that someone may have the disease.
In addition to encouraging people to take preventative measures, media campaigns can also be of benefit in raising the profile of an epidemic disease. This may mean that more pressure is placed on politicians to allocate funding to prevention, cure and recovery from the disease.
For example, raising awareness about the problems associated with HIV/AIDS in many developing countries may encourage Western governments and aid agencies to provide funding for health care.
Raising the public profile of the disease may also educate people as to how they can help people who are affected by the disease. For example, during the recent outbreak of foot & mouth disease in the UK, much effort was spent raising public awareness of the importance of not walking across farm land.
Raising public awareness is also advantageous in helping overcome myths and prejudice associated with some epidemic diseases. For example, as mentioned above, the inclusion of a HIV+ character in Sesame Street in South Africa aims to help children understand that it is OK to play with children who are HIV+.
Reducing prejudice and discrimination against those who suffer from a particular illness has obvious benefits in terms of the standard of life for individuals, but may also have benefits in terms of encouraging people to be tested for diseases and therefore seek treatment.
