Health News: Believe it or Not

Posted by Carolyn Martin on December 11th, 2015 Posted in: Health Literacy

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When you see these health headlines do you immediately think of how it pertains to you or someone you know?  You probably don’t think, “I should make sure this information is from a reputable source,” or “I should read that research article that this information is based on and ask my clinician about it.”

Health care reporting is complicated and has its challenges.  Many journalists do not have the background or education in health and science and are just as uninformed as the public.  They must rely on what they read in the research, what the researchers are telling them, or what is written in a press release that a public relations agency provides.  Often, journalists face tight deadlines that do not allow for in-depth investigation or must comply with commercial pressure to heighten interest or even direct a sales pitch associated with the story.

If it seems that the problem is the journalists’ and the news agencies that employ them, it isn’t that simple.  A study by BMJ revealed that, in health-related press releases, 40% of press releases contained exaggerated advice.  BMJ also found that 36% of the press releases gave the impression that a study’s findings were for humans, when no humans were used in the study.  The BMJ also found that rates of exaggeration were significantly higher in news stories when the press releases provided by academic institutions contained exaggeration than when they did not. The combination of exaggerated press releases, the lack of specialized journalists, and the pressure of the increased speed of information creates an environment of reporting that requires more savvy on the part of news consumers.

So, where to go to learn more about health care news?  Healthnewsreviews.org is an excellent place to begin.  This website is headed by Gary Schwitzer, a long established journalist who specializes in health reporting. His team of reporters review and grade news stories.  They use criteria such as these, asking whether the story:

• adequately quantifies the benefits of the treatment/test/product/procedure?
• adequately explains/quantifies the harms of the intervention?
• commits disease-mongering?
• uses independent sources and identify conflicts of interest?
• appears to rely solely or largely on a news release?

Heathnewsreviews.org advocates for better health news reporting and encourages consumers to do their own critiquing.  But what criteria should consumers use?  In an interview, Schwitzer listed five items for the public to consider when reading news stories:

• If it sounds to good to be true it probably is.
• Does the story claim only the benefits?  Does it do only a quick list of side effects?
• What about the cost of the treatment/procedure/product?
• Does the story report about a “simple screening test”? If it does, that is a red flag because “there is no such thing as a simple screening test.”
• More is not necessarily better when it comes to health care.

Another resource to consider is PubMed Health. PubMed Health provides information for consumers and clinicians about prevention and treatment of health conditions.  PubMed Health includes a section, Behind the Headlines which provides guidance to the science behind the news headlines, how to read health news, and information to understand clinical effectiveness.  Even with a 2008 publishing date, check out the online publication, Know Your Chances: Understanding Health Statistics.  This publication, available on PubMed Health, helps put into context what the numbers mean behind the statistics being reported for a better understanding of health news reporting. Another publication to check out is Healthnewsreview.org’s Tips for Understanding Studies.

It’s not just the news where consumers are getting health information.  You may have seen an Instagram posting by Kim Kardashian about a treatment for morning sickness.  The FDA responded to this by ordering Kardashian to remove the post and to post the health risks associated with the particular treatment. The FDA has responded to this growing marketing trend of social media by providing guidance for presenting risks and benefits of drugs and medical devices when posting on social media.

The February PNR Rendezvous will also have featured speaker, Sally James, a health reporter who is part of the Healthnewsreview.org team to tell us more about the use of social media by patients. Plan to attend this free webinar February 17, 2016 at 1:00pm Pacific Time.

And at the 2016 Medical Library Association annual conference, Ben Goldacre a scheduled keynote speaker who is known for his rapid fire TED Talk about news reports regarding health advice. Despite it’s rather bleak view of research accountability this TED Talk can be helpful in basic understanding about what to keep in mind when hearing about health news.  TED Talk Lessons includes a wonderful video regarding how false news spreads to better understand news reporting and the spread of information and the impact it can have.

So, be careful when hearing and seeing health news whether on CNN, NPR, Google Health News, or a posting on Facebook.  Pause a moment and look carefully at what exactly is being said or isn’t included in the report.  Check to see if you can verify the information and use PubMed Health and Healthnewsreview.org to better understand what is being reported.