The portrayal of complementary and alternative medicine in mass print magazines since 1980.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to examine and describe the portrayal of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in mass print media magazines. DESIGN: The sample included all 37 articles found in magazines with circulation rates of greater than 1 million published in the United States and Canada from 1980 to 2005. The analysis was quantitative and qualitative and included investigation of both manifest and latent magazine story messages. RESULTS: Manifest analysis noted that CAM was largely represented as a treatment for a patient with a medically diagnosed illness or specific symptoms. Discussions used biomedical terms such as patient rather than consumer and disease rather than wellness. LATENT analysis revealed three themes: (1) CAMs were described as good but not good enough; (2) individualism and consumerism were venerated; and (3) questions of costs were raised in the context of confusion and ambivalence.

Asperger's syndrome: differences between parents' understanding and those diagnosed.

This paper reports on a content analysis of blogs written by people with Asperger's syndrome (AS), as well as people who are parents and caretakers of people with AS. The paper documents that the views of the two groups, based on 30 blogs from each perspective, are frequently oppositional to one another. Whereas the parents and caretakers usually accept the medical definition of the situation and seek assistance and a cure for their children, the Aspies argue against this pathologizing and medicalizing perspective. Those diagnosed with AS say they are happy with who they are and that any suffering they may have undergone has been the result of society and not inherent in their condition. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical, methodological, substantive, and practical implications of these findings.

A comparison of blogs by depressed men and women.

This paper reports on a study comparing Internet blogs written by 45 men and 45 women who self-identified as depressed. Using qualitative and inductive methods, distinct differences among the male and female experiences of depression were documented. Among the most important differences were the distinctions male and female bloggers made in regards to (1) the bio-medicalization of depression; (2) the relative significance of world events as compared to relationships in depression experiences; and (3) violence, including suicide and cutting. Theoretical reasons and explanations for these findings are discussed.

Mass print media depictions of cancer and heart disease: community versus individualistic perspectives?

This paper is based on a critical discourse content analysis of 40 stories from the 20 highest circulating English-language mass magazines available in Canada and published in Canada or the USA in 2001. It examines the presence or absence of the social determinants perspective in the portrayal of the two most significant causes of morbidity and mortality in these countries: cancer and heart disease. The media analysis documents an absence of reflection of the social determinants viewpoint on these, the most important causes of disease and death. Thus, magazine stories ignore the role of such considerations as income, education level, ethnicity, visible minority or, Aboriginal status, early life experiences, employment and working conditions, food accessibility and quality, housing, social services, social exclusion, or unemployment and employment security in explaining health. Instead, the magazine articles underscore an individualistic approach to disease that assumes that health care is accessible and available to all, and that these diseases are preventable and treatable through individual lifestyle choices in combination with the measures prescribed through conventional medicine. Although cancer and heart disease are framed by a medical discourse, articles tended to emphasise the independence, freedom and power of the individual within the medical care system. The research documents a continuation of the dominance of conventional medicine buttressed by individualism in media stories. Theoretical and methodological issues are discussed. Some of the practical consequences for policy-makers and professionals are noted.

Gender and heart disease in mass print media: 1991, 1996, 2001.

Using a qualitative content analysis, this paper investigates the portrayal of heart disease among men and women in 75 articles of the 20 highest circulating mass print magazines in 1991, 1996 and 2001 available in Canada and published in the United States and Canada. The majority of articles were directed at men. Whether the article focused on men or women, the depiction of heart disease tended to be gendered. For men, heart disease was described as almost inevitable and as a badge of successful manhood. Its experience and treatment were portrayed as mechanical and aggressive, as well as the result of individual lifestyle choices that could be "fixed" by the individual himself. In comparison, women's heart disease was portrayed as something of which to be ashamed, especially since diagnosis conflicts with the role of "caregiver." Women were described as ignorant, emotional victims. Moreover, women's bodies were portrayed as pathological, especially after menopause. Practical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.