Jessie Gruman’s Prepared Patient Blog on the Accuracy of Health News
In a recent post on the Prepared Patient Blog, Jessie Gruman writes about the demands placed on health journalists, and the impact that this reporting has on public attitudes. She cites a series of interviews conducted by the Center for Advancing Health in 2011 suggesting that journalists are encouraged to avoid ambiguity, make things simple, and write to get clicks.
“…we need accurate health news. And coverage is inaccurate when it omits discussion of the limitations of a finding, for example, or when it omits any mention of price, or when it stretches the conclusions of a study to satisfy our appetite for certainty about the effectiveness of a treatment.”
Jessie Gruman was recently presented with the NCCS Excellence in Media Award at the 2013 Rays of Hope Event: Media and the Cancer Experience. She is the founder and CEO of the Center for Advancing Health.
