 "After
the break, find out what heart drug is responsible for
thousands of deaths."
Does this tease sound familiar?
It could easily be the top story on the evening news
on any given night in Canada. Sensational headlines
like this are sending patients to your office to find
out if they're going to die because some drug's suddenly
been declared deadly — sometimes even when they're
not taking it.
"I dread Thursdays," says Dr Ross
Upshur, an epidemiologist, family physician and a member
of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics.
"That's the day embargoes come off. The next morning
patients call up wanting the new wonder drug."
IF
IT BLEEDS IT LEADS
In Dr Upshur's opinion, the quality of news reporting
is a major concern. "Let's just say it varies from sober
and accurate to alarming and outright misleading," he
says. "You would think that some more tabloid-oriented
papers would be the ones that would be consistently
alarming and the more sober papers would not. But that
isn't the case."
Several studies over the last few
years have pointed to varying degrees of inaccuracies
in health reporting. One study published in the June
1, 2000 issue of NEJM looked at how coverage
of medications painted inadequate or incomplete pictures
of the risks and benefits of drugs. Researchers scanned
180 newspaper articles and 27 television reports that
discussed pravastatin, alendronate and aspirin. Results
showed that 40% ofn the coverage failed to report benefits
quantitatively.
DOWN
THE GARDEN PATH
Another study, this time from the June 5, 2002 issue
of JAMA, looked at how press releases often presented
misleading information to the public. The study found
that though data presented in the releases often exaggerated
the importance of the findings, much of it found its
way into the lay press.
"It's important not to take it
all as gospel," says Kathryn O'Hara, an associate professor
at the Carleton University School of Journalism who
teaches young reporters science journalism. "Science
is very inconclusive," she adds, "which isn't the way
media works — it's not event oriented like the
news."
"I think the media is used constantly
by the pharmaceutical industry," says Jim Handman, executive
producer of CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks. "It
isn't easy for the untrained journalist to know how
to weed out the good and bad." He doesn't think the
news media should be reporting on drugs. "What's the
point of telling the public about some new drug?"
Add these reporting discrepancies
to a patient's sometimes selective hearing and you could
be in for some serious misinterpretation. "People personalize
everything when it comes to their health," explains
Ms O'Hara. "It's very difficult. Even if you put in
a number of caveats they're nervous."
That can leave physicians with
a heavy burden. Dr Upshur suggests the best approach
is to take the time for a one-on-one with patients.
"You have to sit down and do some reasoning with your
patients," he says.
DOUBLE-EDGED
SWORD
But the media's coverage of medicine isn't all bad.
A study from the April 27 CMAJ looked at whether
print media was or wasn't overhyping genetic breakthroughs.
Researchers scanned the coverage of 111 papers on genetics
in 627 newspaper articles. They found that only 11%
of the newspapers contained moderate to highly exaggerated
claims about genetic medical discoveries. The conclusion
of the study was that the majority of newspaper articles
accurately conveyed study results.
"When carried out well [media coverage
of health issues] can provide a public service," says
Dr Upshur. He refers to the SARS crisis, during which
he worked on the front lines. He says the media was
the first to get information out — but sometimes
this had its pitfalls. "The media has an incredible
power to collect information," he remarks, "but they
can also do a lot of harm."
During the SARS crisis the media
made claims that a nurse — who hadn't even been
diagnosed with SARS — had spread the disease to
commuters as she travelled to and from work. The CBC's
headline was "Nurse on passenger train may have spread
SARS;" Canadian Press ran "SARS nurse rode commuter
train." As a result, Toronto Transit officials plastered
her route with warnings to passengers. It turned out
the nurse merely had a cold. "The media created a blood
lust for her," Dr Upshur recalls.
But those were exceptional times
we were living through and Dr Upshur maintains that
the media was for the most part helpful during the crisis.
He was often in contact with reporters from the CBC:
"They were getting information to me faster than scientists,"
he says, adding "My wife knew more at the end of the
day than I did!"
IT'LL
GET YOU TALKING
There is an upside to all the awareness the news media
outlets are generating about health issues and living
a healthier life. "My patients are always bringing in
stuff," says Dr Upshur. He sees this as an excellent
opportunity to discuss health issues with patients.
"At first you can feel put upon,"
adds Dr Upshur, "but you can also take the time out
of your day to use it as an opportunity to learn about
something new."
For those who are still a little
leery, he has this to say. "There are a number of ways
to look at it," he explains, "you can learn something
yourself, communicate with your patient and help your
patient learn for themselves."
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