April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: Covering Health Equity: U.S. Health Journalists’ Understanding of and Attitudes Toward Social Determinants of Health
While health communication research has explored social determinants in health news, the journalists’ perspective has rarely been considered. The last large-scale survey of U.S. health journalists was conducted 15 years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic and protests for racial justice that brought more attention to health inequities and the impact of social determinants on health. We conducted an online survey of 629 U.S. health journalists to investigate (1) journalists’ knowledge of and attitudes toward social determinants of health and racial inequities; and (2) how knowledge and attitudes vary by health beat and years of experience.
Overall, U.S. health journalists consider social determinants of health and racial inequity crucial elements of health coverage. Nearly all journalists agree that social determinants have a significant impact on a person’s health, with 30.2% saying social determinants have a greater impact than individual behavior and lifestyle and 61.4% saying social determinants have the same impact as individual behavior. Journalists reported feeling relatively well prepared to cover racial inequities and were likely to disagree with the statement that there was too much emphasis on racial inequities in health news.
A textual analysis of the responses to an open-ended question on what health journalists felt positive about also revealed that the importance of equity in health coverage and the growing awareness of social determinants was a cause for optimism for about 10% of journalists.
Even so, attitudes toward social determinants of health and racial inequities were not equally distributed across health journalism beats. Frequency of covering health business and policy or public health was strongly correlated with familiarity with the term “social determinants,” feeling adequately prepared to cover racial inequities, and disagreement that there’s too much emphasis on racial inequities in health stories (p < .001 for all). In contrast, frequency of covering personal health and wellness was positively associated with agreement that there was too much emphasis on racial inequities (p = .08).
Years of journalism experience also showed significant interactions with health journalism beat. Those with more years of experience who covered personal health more often were less familiar with the term social determinants of health, less prepared to cover racial inequities, and more likely to agree that there was too much emphasis on racial inequalities in health (p <.001). Predictions were in the opposite direction for those with more years of experience who covered public health (p <.001).
Our national survey finds that many health journalists consider social determinants and racial inequities to be central to health coverage, and that increased attention to equity in the field is cause for optimism. However, journalists covering different health topics have divergent opinions, particularly when tenure in the field is considered. Our findings point to the need for more nuanced understanding of health journalists’ work that considers how the type of health news coverage relates to crucial professional values and standards, like consideration of health equity.
Overall, U.S. health journalists consider social determinants of health and racial inequity crucial elements of health coverage. Nearly all journalists agree that social determinants have a significant impact on a person’s health, with 30.2% saying social determinants have a greater impact than individual behavior and lifestyle and 61.4% saying social determinants have the same impact as individual behavior. Journalists reported feeling relatively well prepared to cover racial inequities and were likely to disagree with the statement that there was too much emphasis on racial inequities in health news.
A textual analysis of the responses to an open-ended question on what health journalists felt positive about also revealed that the importance of equity in health coverage and the growing awareness of social determinants was a cause for optimism for about 10% of journalists.
Even so, attitudes toward social determinants of health and racial inequities were not equally distributed across health journalism beats. Frequency of covering health business and policy or public health was strongly correlated with familiarity with the term “social determinants,” feeling adequately prepared to cover racial inequities, and disagreement that there’s too much emphasis on racial inequities in health stories (p < .001 for all). In contrast, frequency of covering personal health and wellness was positively associated with agreement that there was too much emphasis on racial inequities (p = .08).
Years of journalism experience also showed significant interactions with health journalism beat. Those with more years of experience who covered personal health more often were less familiar with the term social determinants of health, less prepared to cover racial inequities, and more likely to agree that there was too much emphasis on racial inequalities in health (p <.001). Predictions were in the opposite direction for those with more years of experience who covered public health (p <.001).
Our national survey finds that many health journalists consider social determinants and racial inequities to be central to health coverage, and that increased attention to equity in the field is cause for optimism. However, journalists covering different health topics have divergent opinions, particularly when tenure in the field is considered. Our findings point to the need for more nuanced understanding of health journalists’ work that considers how the type of health news coverage relates to crucial professional values and standards, like consideration of health equity.