Power of the Media in Health Communication

Valentina Marinescu, University of Bucharest, Romania and Bianca Mitu, University of Huddersfield, UK.

’This inspiring collection of essays illustrates the complex, multifaceted relationships between mediated communication and health. The volume is a fine showcase of the different methodologies, disciplines and issues in this fascinating and ever expanding field of research.’ Daniel Biltereyst, Ghent University, Belgium ’Is mass communication responsible for the production of socially accepted images of health and disease, of nutrition practices and the body, of a good life? This lively collection brings a cultural approach to understanding the role of media in the field of health. The book is an invitation to the critical assessment of communication strategies influencing behavioural models.’ Valentina Gueorguieva, Sofia University, Bulgaria ’In an increasingly global and fragmented world, mass media are essential to the social construction of public health problems. This thoughtful book edited by Valentina Marinescu and Bianca Mitu provides research evidence and experts’ perspectives about this decisive role of mass media in defining reality, proposing possible solutions and even being an imperative communication tool for patients and health professionals.’ Carmen Vives-Cases, Alicante University, Spain ’The complexity and dynamism of interrelationships between the use of media, promotion of health and marketing actions requires not only the study of these narrow areas but also an interdisciplinary approach by which certain general tendencies can be noticed. This is an interdisciplinary study which enlists the cooperation of a range of researchers from different parts of the world and disciplines, and analyses various aspects of the use of media in health communication.’ Maria Marczewska-Rytko, Maria Curie-SkÅ‚odowska University, Poland

• Part I: Representations of Health and Illness in Mass Media1. Depressing news: Obesity panic, reflexive embodiment and teen mental health in the USA2. Media Coverage of the Ebola Virus Disease: A content analytical study of The Guardian and Daily Trust newspapers3. Media representations of anorexia: Between medical discourse and show biz4. From Germs to Ghosts: The politics of naming an epidemicPart 2: Mediations of Doctor-patient Communication5. Patients’ interpretations of CAM-related information: Manoeuvring between patient and consumer positionings6. ‘Alone with my illness’: Stories about chronic disease in RomaniaPart 3: Journalists Discourses About Health7. Health journalism practices in Portuguese newsrooms: An assessment of journalists’ perceptions8. What the media and health professions think about the health content of the mediaPart 4: Internet and Health9. Health in the digital era: Searching health information online10. The web in healthcare: A new psychologist? Trends of search over the web in depression syndrome11. Teenagers, risk behaviours and the use of new technologies for healthConclusion: Media and health: Where do we go from here?