Context -- The news media has a powerful influence on public perceptions about health. Several studies, however, have raised questions about how well the press covers medical issues, pointing out errors and misleading statistical presentations. Such problems are not surprising. Journalists generally receive no training in how to interpret or discuss medical research. And medical journals, the most common source of stories, currently do little to make the journalist's job easier. Long-term objectives -- To help journalists to better cover medical research and to help improve communication between journalists and the medical journals, we will: (1) Develop and evaluate news report quality criteria for media reporting on medical issues; (2) Develop and evaluate press guides to facilitate and standardize communication between medical journals and journalists; (3) Develop and evaluate a primer to train journalists in how to interpret and report on medical research.
Specific Aims Aim I: Conduct formal psychometric testing to establish the validity, reliability and sensibility of the news report quality criteria as an outcome measure for subsequent studies in Aims II and III.
Aim II : Work with 4 major medical journals (Ann Intern Med, BMJ, JAMA, and J NaU Cancer Inst) to refine the press guide and develop a process for its implementation. We will evaluate how journalists respond to the press guide and conduct randomized trials to see whether press guides improve the quality of reporting (using Aim criteria).
Aim III : Develop a primer for journalists with practical advice on how to interpret and report on medical research. We will assess the effect of the primer in a randomized controlled trial involving staff newspaper healthcare journalists. The main outcome measures will be whether the primer improves critical reading skills and the quality of reporting (using Aim I criteria). Significance -- this project will help by developing methods to evaluate media coverage of medical issues and by promoting balanced health messages in the media. Balanced news coverage will help patients (and their physicians) better understand the importance of research findings and the benefits of medical interventions -- in turn, this will help to promote informed decision making.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01CA104721-02
Application #
6917954
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-HOP-J (90))
Program Officer
Hesse, Bradford
Project Start
2004-07-06
Project End
2007-06-30
Budget Start
2005-07-01
Budget End
2006-06-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$458,935
Indirect Cost
Name
Dartmouth College
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
041027822
City
Hanover
State
NH
Country
United States
Zip Code
03755
Wegwarth, Odette; Schwartz, Lisa M; Woloshin, Steven et al. (2012) Do physicians understand cancer screening statistics? A national survey of primary care physicians in the United States. Ann Intern Med 156:340-9
Woloshin, Steven; Schwartz, Lisa M; Kramer, Barnett S (2009) Promoting healthy skepticism in the news: helping journalists get it right. J Natl Cancer Inst 101:1596-9
Schwartz, Lisa M; Woloshin, Steven; Welch, H Gilbert (2009) Using a drug facts box to communicate drug benefits and harms: two randomized trials. Ann Intern Med 150:516-27
Woloshin, Steven; Schwartz, Lisa M; Casella, Samuel L et al. (2009) Press releases by academic medical centers: not so academic? Ann Intern Med 150:613-8
Woloshin, Steven; Schwartz, Lisa M; Welch, H Gilbert (2008) The risk of death by age, sex, and smoking status in the United States: putting health risks in context. J Natl Cancer Inst 100:845-53
Woloshin, Steven; Schwartz, Lisa M; Welch, H Gilbert (2007) The effectiveness of a primer to help people understand risk: two randomized trials in distinct populations. Ann Intern Med 146:256-65
Schwartz, Lisa M; Woloshin, Steven; Welch, H Gilbert (2007) The drug facts box: providing consumers with simple tabular data on drug benefit and harm. Med Decis Making 27:655-62
Schwartz, Lisa M; Woloshin, Steven; Dvorin, Evan L et al. (2006) Ratio measures in leading medical journals: structured review of accessibility of underlying absolute risks. BMJ 333:1248
Woloshin, Steven; Schwartz, Lisa M (2006) Giving legs to restless legs: a case study of how the media helps make people sick. PLoS Med 3:e170
Woloshin, Steven; Schwartz, Lisa M (2005) Reducing the risk that patients get it wrong. Gastroenterology 129:748-50

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