Health worries: analysis of mass media influence

Abstract

During the last years, mass media have centred on health and illness information more than ever before and stories about health risks fill up newspapers, magazines, TV programmes and internet sites. Recently, much of these informations are focused on emergent health risks, such as genetically modified food. In western countries, mass media appear as one of the main sources of health risks information for many people with a potential effect to shape individuals’ health perceptions and worries. Although there is a growing interest in studying the media coverage of health topics in Spain, it may be necessary to go beyond and to understand the social and psychological processes (interpersonal communication, dependence on mass and media exposure) through which mass communication impact on individual beliefs about personal health. The present study is part of a larger project aimed to examine: (a) the relationship of new health worries to health complaints and perceptions of health, (b) the media coverage of emergent risks and of its impact on health in Spain,(c) the influence of exposure to information about these topics on health worries and the role of interpersonal communication and dependence on media. Preliminary results from the first phase of this project will be presented and discussed.