April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: Changes in News Coverage and Framing of Food Insecurity Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
Background: One of the most significant components of the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic was the expansion of critical social safety net programs, including food assistance—a direct response to the staggering rates of food insecurity and hunger, which disproportionately impacted people of color. With shelter-in-place orders, low-wage workers experienced job loss as businesses shut down. These expansions were effective but short-lived, ending with the lifting of the public health emergency order in early 2023. Prior literature emphasizes that while researchers understand structural racism as a root cause of health inequities, media portrayals blame individuals. We consider how framing of food insecurity and health inequities may have shifted public discourse during the pandemic emergency, as a potential contribution to the strong policy response.
Purpose: To compare news coverage of food insecurity before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic national emergency. We hypothesized that news coverage of food insecurity during the national emergency would be (1) higher, and (2) more likely to focus on structural-level causes and solutions than on individual-level factors, compared with coverage before and after.
Methods: We used the ProQuest U.S. Major Dailies database to identify articles covering food insecurity in the United States’ newspaper of record, The New York Times, in the 12 months prior to the emergency declaration (P1; February 2019-February 2020), the duration of the emergency (P2; March 2020-December 2022), and the first 9 months following the discussion around ending the pandemic emergency which officially ended in May 2023 (P3; January-September 2023). From the resulting N=8,171 articles (P1: 1,772; P2: 5,277; and P3: 1,122), we randomly selected articles using a weighted constructed week design, for a final analytic sample of N=1,354 articles, representing 10 weeks in P1 (N=291), 27 in P2 (N=872), and 7 in P3 (N=191). We coded each article for the major causes of and solutions to food insecurity; specific federal/state programs mentioned; and mention of special populations. For analytic purposes, we collapsed causes and solutions as individual and structural/policy levels.
Preliminary Findings: As hypothesized, news coverage of food insecurity was higher during the public health emergency than before. The most common causes of food insecurity mentioned in news coverage across time periods were the economy, including inflation, and federal and state budget cuts to food programs. In addition, news coverage during the pandemic emergency discussed access to foods as a significant challenge, specifically relating to supply chain interruptions that hindered the availability of healthy food items. Individual-level factors contributing to food insecurity include economic constraints like the inability to purchase food due to inflation. Discussion of solutions to food insecurity mirrored the attributions, with structural-level solutions such as food and economic policy proposals heavily discussed, along with community-level strategies to increase access to healthy foods.
Conclusion: Food insecurity was widely discussed during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, but news coverage returned to below pre-emergency levels after the emergency was lifted. We discuss the implications of using news media to advocate for structural and policy solutions to food insecurity.
Purpose: To compare news coverage of food insecurity before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic national emergency. We hypothesized that news coverage of food insecurity during the national emergency would be (1) higher, and (2) more likely to focus on structural-level causes and solutions than on individual-level factors, compared with coverage before and after.
Methods: We used the ProQuest U.S. Major Dailies database to identify articles covering food insecurity in the United States’ newspaper of record, The New York Times, in the 12 months prior to the emergency declaration (P1; February 2019-February 2020), the duration of the emergency (P2; March 2020-December 2022), and the first 9 months following the discussion around ending the pandemic emergency which officially ended in May 2023 (P3; January-September 2023). From the resulting N=8,171 articles (P1: 1,772; P2: 5,277; and P3: 1,122), we randomly selected articles using a weighted constructed week design, for a final analytic sample of N=1,354 articles, representing 10 weeks in P1 (N=291), 27 in P2 (N=872), and 7 in P3 (N=191). We coded each article for the major causes of and solutions to food insecurity; specific federal/state programs mentioned; and mention of special populations. For analytic purposes, we collapsed causes and solutions as individual and structural/policy levels.
Preliminary Findings: As hypothesized, news coverage of food insecurity was higher during the public health emergency than before. The most common causes of food insecurity mentioned in news coverage across time periods were the economy, including inflation, and federal and state budget cuts to food programs. In addition, news coverage during the pandemic emergency discussed access to foods as a significant challenge, specifically relating to supply chain interruptions that hindered the availability of healthy food items. Individual-level factors contributing to food insecurity include economic constraints like the inability to purchase food due to inflation. Discussion of solutions to food insecurity mirrored the attributions, with structural-level solutions such as food and economic policy proposals heavily discussed, along with community-level strategies to increase access to healthy foods.
Conclusion: Food insecurity was widely discussed during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, but news coverage returned to below pre-emergency levels after the emergency was lifted. We discuss the implications of using news media to advocate for structural and policy solutions to food insecurity.