A contribuição da internet para divulgar a epilepsia: atitudes e ações / The contribution of the internet to promote epilepsy: attitudes and actions

O século 21 coloca desafios sem precedentes para a mídia. O reino da comunicação precisou adaptar-se para sobreviver a uma nova era, a era digital. Apesar dos impactos causados, principalmente, sobre os meios tradicionais, como jornais e revistas, observa-se uma janela de oportunidade para aqueles que aceitam abraçar novas ferramentas. A Internet oferece enorme potencial de atingir grandes massas, por um preço mais acessível. Os cientistas dispostos a divulgar os resultados de pesquisa a um público mais amplo devem aproveitar a web não apenas para alcançar os acadêmicos, como também o público não especializado...

The 21st century poses unprecedented challenges to the media. The realm of communications had to adapt to survive this new era. Despite the challenges, felt mainly upon traditional means, such as newspapers and magazines, there is a window of opportunity opened for those who accept embracing new tools. Internet has an enormous potential to reach large masses on a low budget basis. Scientists willing to publicize their research findings and be read by wider audiences should take advantage of the web not only to reach academics but also an audience of non-specialists...

Reporting on health-related research in two prestigious Brazilian newspapers

OBJECTIVES: The dissemination of health-related news through newspapers can influence the behavior of patients and of health care providers. We conducted a study to analyze the characteristics of health-related research published by two leading Brazilian newspapers. METHOD: We retrospectively evaluated health-related news published in the electronic versions of the newspapers Folha de São Paulo and O Estado de São Paulo over a period of three months (July through September, 2009). Only articles mentioning medical research were included. The articles were categorized according to topic, source, study location and the nature of the headline. We also analyzed the presence of background information on the topic, citations of medical periodicals, national contextualization and references to products or companies. RESULTS: Scientific research articles corresponded to 57% and 20% of health-related articles published by Folha de São Paulo and O Estado de São Paulo, respectively. Folha de São Paulo published significantly more articles about national studies, and most articles were written by its own staff. In contrast, most articles in O Estado de São Paulo came from news agencies. Folha de São Paulo also better contextualized its reports for Brazilian society. O Estado de São Paulo tended to cite the name of the periodical in which the study was published more frequently, but their articles lacked national contextualization. CONCLUSION: The results showed a significant difference in the way in which the studied newspapers report on health-related research. Folha de São Paulo tends to write its own articles and more frequently publishes the results of national research, whereas O Estado de São Paulo publishes articles that originate in news agencies, most of which have little national contextualization.