What are the roles and responsibilities of the media in disseminating health information?
editorial · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 16033311.
- Also identified by PMC identifier 1181881.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
In December 2004 three news stories in the popular press suggested that the side effects of single-dose nevirapine, which has been proven to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, had been covered up. Many HIV experts believed that the stories were unwarranted and that they would undermine use of the drug, leading to a rise in neonatal HIV infection. The controversy surrounding these stories prompted the PLoS Medicine editors to ask health journalists, and others with an interest in media reporting of health, to share their views on the roles and responsibilities of the media in disseminating health information.
Medical subject headings
- Health Promotion
- Journalism, Medical
- Mass Media
- Preventive Medicine