BA (JMC) 108: Health Journalism

Unit 2 (Introduction to Health Journalism)

By Dr. Saima Pervez

Health Journalism: Concept, Need and Importance

Concept of Health Journalism

Journalism comprises of activities like collecting information, preparing news stories and
disseminating news to the public via various print and electronic media such as newspapers,
magazines, television, radio and the internet. Originally journalism referred to reporting news
stories in print media only but with the advent of radio, television and the internet in the 20 th
century, the usage of the term broadened to include all forms of media pertaining to reporting
news and information.

Health Journalism (also known as Medical Journalism) is an important news beat (a

particular topic or area of specialisation that a journalist covers) that includes the reporting of
news focusing on public health issues, medical research and explaining various socio-
economic factors that are interconnected to public health in this context.

There are various social determinants of health like socio-economic conditions and individual
risk factors that can influence the health status of a nation. For example, living conditions of
different classes of people, distribution of resources and wealth, behaviour, culture and
genetics can influence the risk for a disease, or vulnerability to disease or injury. Health
Journalism as a beat therefore has to touch upon various fields like politics; economics and
resource allocation; medicine and disease; business finances, marketing and sales practices;
and consumer regulation and the law, in order to present an analytical explanation.

Need and Importance of Health Journalism

Public health is an area of concern for the governments of the entire world, be it in developed
or developing countries. In present times, health is that aspect of modern life that is most
universally affected by globalization and the fact that the world is being hit by similar kinds
of health challenges is being increasingly recognized by the nations. Earlier, diseases like
diabetes and cancer used to be regarded as the diseases that only affluent or developed
countries were plagued with owing to modern lifestyles. However, in recent times such
diseases have become the major cause of mortality in the developing and underdeveloped
countries too.

Medical issues, when reported impact not only the medical community but also the general
public, and the government. But the medical research findings are not easily understood by
the general public. Thus, unless crucial information is presented to the public in a manner that
is relatable to them, they can easily misinterpreted and misunderstood leading to grave
consequences.

Medical/Health journalism can also influence way an individual’s perspective towards their
own health care. When they are well aware of new advancements in medical science, about
health challenges and ways to prevent them, and about government health policies, they are
more likely to take more informed decisions regarding their health practices.

It is to be noted that health journalism targets the common people as their primary audience,
rather than health professionals as such. The main purpose of health journalism is to inform
and educate the common public about health related issues, so as to make people aware of
potential health risks, how to prevent or face health challenges and to ensure an overall
healthy environment to maintain high standards of public health.

Amongst various approaches to overcome national and global health issues, government and
international agencies and non-profit organizations use different forms of media to mobilize
collective action and responsibility at the local, regional, national or international levels to
reach a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. Responsible health
journalism is the need of the hour to meet the challenges of insufficient and imbalanced
communication among diverse stakeholders of public health that could pave the way forward
for bridging the gap between the government and the public. Needless to say, effectual
communication is an influential mechanism for health promotion, as long as the
communication is not considered to be the end goal, but only a means to the end.

REFERENCES

Bishwajit G, José Y, Junior RP, et al. Role of Health Journalism in Promoting

Communication among Stakeholders in Healthcare Sector: Scientific Foundation and
Architecture. J Healthc Commun. 2016, 1:3. DOI: 10.4172/2472-1654.100016
Maksimainen, Heini, and Hilary Michaelmas. "Improving the Quality of Health Journalism:
When Reliability meets Engagement." Reuters Institute Fellowship Paper 9 (2017).

Secko, David M., and Wendy A. Smith. "Report: Health Journalism: Fracturing Concerns and
Building Reflective Capacity with a Deliberative Lens." Canadian Journal of
Communication 35.2 (2010).

Total word count: 738

Release date: 15.04.2020