Mental Health News during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A 3-year analysis in Paraguay
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53732/rccsalud/2024.e6130Keywords:
mental health, news, newspaper article, COVID-19, ParaguayAbstract
Introduction. The connection between news sources and the connotation of mental health articles in Paraguay during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2023) significantly impacted public opinion about mental health. Objective. This study analyzed news on mental health in Paraguay in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods. A descriptive retrospective study of all news articles on mental health published in the three primary newspapers of the country between May 2020 and May 2023 was conducted. The keywords were depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and mental health issues. Results. A total of 534 news were examined, 39.5% published by La Nación newspaper, 33.1% in 2023, and in 88.4% the author's identity and gender were not specified. Of the writing characteristics, 99.8% were written in the third person, 62.7% had a human-interest context, 48.5% had a neutral connotation, 65.7% focused on health and well-being, and 7.5% written by health experts. The year of publication was statistically associated to connotation (p=0.003) and context (p<0.001). Conclusion. The media has paid significant attention to mental health. Despite the objectivity provided by third-person narration, problems arise because of a lack of author identification. To encourage balanced and non-polarized reporting, it is crucial to incorporate expert voices and promote the framing of mental health stories as “human interest”.
References
Torales J, O'Higgins M, Castaldelli-Maia JM, Ventriglio A. The outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus and its impact on global mental health. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2020;66(4):317-320. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32233719/
Fegert JM, Vitiello B, Plener PL, Clemens V. Challenges and burden of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for child and adolescent mental health: a narrative review to highlight clinical and research needs in the acute phase and the long return to normality. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2020;14:20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-020-00329-3
Xiong J, Lipsitz O, Nasri F, Lui LMW, Gill H, Phan L, et al. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in the general population: A systematic review. J Affect Disord. 2020;277:55-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.001
Kamble S, Joshi A, Kamble R, Kumari S. Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic on Psychological Status: An Elaborate Review. Cureus. 2022;14(10):e29820. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.29820
Murphy L, Markey K, O' Donnell C, Moloney M, Doody O. The impact of the 5. COVID-19 pandemic and its related restrictions on people with pre-existent mental health conditions: A scoping review. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2021;35(4):375-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2021.05.002
Soroya SH, Farooq A, Mahmood K, Isoaho J, Zara SE. From information seeking to information avoidance: Understanding the health information behavior during a global health crisis. Inf Process Manag. 2021;58(2):102440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102440
Torales J, Barrios I, O'Higgins M, Almirón-Santacruz J, Gonzalez-Urbieta I, García O, et al. COVID-19 infodemic and depressive symptoms: The impact of the exposure to news about COVID-19 on the general Paraguayan population. J Affect Disord. 2022;298(PtA):599-603. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.11.036
Chancellor S, De Choudhury M. Methods in predictive techniques for mental health status on social media: a critical review. NPJ Digit Med. 2020;3:43. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-020-0233-7
Clark O, Lee MM, Jingree ML, O'Dwyer E, Yue Y, Marrero A, et al. Weight Stigma and Social Media: Evidence and Public Health Solutions. Front Nutr. 2021;8:739056. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.739056
Srivastava K, Chaudhury S, Bhat PS, Mujawar S. Media and mental health. Ind Psychiatry J. 2018;27(1):1-5. https://doi.org/10.4103/ipj.ipj_73_18
Subu MA, Wati DF, Netrida N, Priscilla V, Dias JM, Abraham MS, et al. Types of stigma experienced by patients with mental illness and mental health nurses in Indonesia: a qualitative content analysis. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2021;15(1):77. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-021-00502-x
Argimón Pallás JM, Jiménez Villa J. Métodos de investigación clínica y epidemiológica. Barcelona: Elsevier España; 2010. https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9788481747096/metodos-de-investigacion-clinica-y-epidemiologica#book-description
Torales J, Barrios I. Diseño de investigaciones: algoritmo de clasificación y características esenciales. Med Clínica Soc. 2023;7(3):210-35. https://doi.org/10.52379/mcs.v7i3.349
Arneaud GJ, Kar A, Majumder S, Molodynski A, Lovett K, Kar S. Mental health disorders in English newspapers of India: A retrospective study. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2023;69(3):646-652. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36326007/
Bode K. Thousands of Titles Without Authors: Digitized Newspapers, Serial Fiction, and the Challenges of Anonymity. Book Hist. 2016;19(1):284-316. https://doi.org/10.1353/bh.2016.0008
Su Z, McDonnell D, Wen J, Kozak M, Abbas J, Šegalo S, et al. Mental health consequences of COVID-19 media coverage: the need for effective crisis communication practices. Global Health. 2021;17(4):1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-020-00654-4
Lavie A, Lehman-Wilzig S. Whose News?: Does Gender Determine the Editorial Product? Eur J Commun. 2003;18(1):5-29. https://doi.org/10.1177/026732310301800122
Gupta C, Jogdand DS, Kumar M. Reviewing the Impact of Social Media on the Mental Health of Adolescents and Young Adults. Cureus. 2022;14(10):e30143. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.30143
Cain B, Currie R, Danks E, Du F, Hodgson E, May J, et al. “Schizophrenia” in the Australian print and online news media. Psychosis. 2014;6(2)9:7-106. 10.1080/17522439.2013.764349
Goulden R, Corker E, Evans-Lacko S, Rose D, Thornicroft G, Henderson C. Newspaper coverage of mental
illness in the UK, 1992-2008. BMC Public Health 2011;11(1);1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-796
Park JH, Choi YM, Kim B, Lee DW, Gim MS. Use of the terms "schizophrenia" and "schizophrenic" in the South Korean news media: a content analysis of newspapers and news programs in the last 10 years. Psychiatry Investig. 2012;9(1):17-24. https://doi.org/10.4306/pi.2012.9.1.17
Torales J, González I. Perspectives on psychiatry education in Latin America. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2020;32(2):122-127. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2019.1655716
Aboaja A, Wahab A, Cao YY, O'Higgins M, Torales J. Mental health in the republic of Paraguay. BJPsych International 2022;19(1):10-12. https://doi.org/10.1192/bji.2021.24
.png)
All the contents of this journal are licensed under a 