Media relations in health communication: the sources of information in cancer newspaper articles in Portugal

Abstract

In Portugal, the use of strategic communication within the public health sector has been growing in the past decade. And the increase of health media relations is part of this process. Public organisationshave the task of protecting and enhancing public health. However, this mission has become quite difficult with the growing interdependence of economies and societies, which increases the risks of diseases and other health global issues. This is why a relevant part of the literature on health communication is dedicated to studying the communication of diseases. Within this research area, there is a dominant perspectivesuggesting that communication aims for risk reduction, prevention and detection of diseases for treatment and survival rates. This approach also highlights the role of the mass media as actors of social awareness development on the most prevalent diseases and on the enlargement of health literacy ingeneral. To which we add. the importance of health media relations activities developed by health organisations, toshare relevant information ,within the health care delivery systems through mass media channels. In order to know more about health media relations (and health journalism).we have been conducting a systematic study on health news coverage in Portugal. Our research design combines the examination of news content, news production practices and news sources. Each year we select the two most salient diseases covered by the press and we conduct a thorough study that aims to understand the process of health information construction. This study presents the results of2011 's research on cancer news - the most covered disease in that year – following the perspective of the information sources and having as a basis the Strategic Communication framework. The results indicate that health officials and institutional sources are predominant as result of strategic communication actions, which gives them a powerful voice as news definers.