Interventions to improve media coverage of medical research: a codesigned feasibility and acceptability study with Australian journalists.

OBJECTIVES: Although the media can influence public perceptions and utilisation of healthcare, journalists generally receive no routine training in interpreting and reporting on medical research. Given growing evidence about the problems of medical overuse, the need for quality media reporting has become a greater priority. This study aimed to codesign and assess the feasibility of a multicomponent training intervention for journalists in Australia. DESIGN: A small pragmatic feasibility study using a pre- and postdesign. SETTING: 90 min online workshop. PARTICIPANTS: Eight journalists currently working in Australia, recruited through the study's journalist advisor and existing contacts of the researchers. INTERVENTION: The training intervention covered a range of topics, including study designs, conflicts of interest, misleading medical statistics, population screening and overdiagnosis. The intervention also provided tools to help journalists with reporting, including a Tip Sheet and list of expert contacts in health and medicine. Preworkshop and postworkshop questionnaires were administered via Qualtrics. MEASURES: Acceptability and feasibility of the intervention, and journalists' knowledge of overdiagnosis and common issues with health stories. Quantitative results were analysed descriptively using SPSS. Qualitative data were thematically analysed. RESULTS: All participants completed preworkshop and postworkshop questionnaires, and 6 completed the 6-week follow-up (75% retention). Feasibility findings suggest the intervention is acceptable and relevant to journalists, with participants indicating the workshop increased confidence with reporting on medical research. We observed increases in knowledge preworkshop to postworkshop for all knowledge measures on overdiagnosis and common issues with media coverage of medicine. Analysis of free-text responses identified several areas for improvement, such as including more examples to aid understanding of the counterintuitive topic of overdiagnosis and more time for discussion. CONCLUSIONS: Piloting suggested the multicomponent training intervention is acceptable to journalists and provided important feedback and insights to inform a future trial of the intervention's impact on media coverage of medicine.

Spinal Cord Stimulators: An Analysis of the Adverse Events Reported to the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration.

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord stimulators are used to treat intractable pain. Placebo-controlled trials of spinal cord stimulators typically involve short-term treatment and follow-up, so long-term safety and efficacy are unclear. AIM: The aim of the study was to describe the adverse events relating to spinal cord stimulators reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia between July 2012 and January 2019. METHODS: Adverse events were coded by seriousness, severity, body system affected, type of event, action taken, and attribution of fault. Data on the number of stimulators implanted and removed were sourced from the Admitted Patient Care Minimum Data Set. RESULTS: Five hundred twenty adverse events were reported for spinal cord stimulators. Most events were rated as severe (79%) or life-threatening (13%). Device malfunction was the most common event (56.5%). The most common action taken in response to an adverse event was surgical intervention with or without antibiotics (80%). The ratio of removals to implants was 4 per every 10 implanted. CONCLUSIONS: Spinal cords stimulators have the potential for serious harm, and each year in Australia, many are removed. In view of the low certainty evidence of their long-term safety and effectiveness, our results raise questions about their role in providing long-term management of intractable pain.