The Guardian, 6 October 2017
Author: Melissa Davey
“Inaccurate media reporting about vaginal mesh implants and the lawsuits associated with them has caused patients to become fearful of mesh procedures that may be essential to improving their health, New Zealand general surgeon Dr Steven Kelly says.”
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Tag Archives: Media
Australian academics seek to challenge ‘web of avarice’ in scientific publishing
The Guardian, 14 August 2015
Author: Melissa Davey
“The academic publishing industry is a “gigantic web of avarice and selfishness”, an eminent public health professor has said, as Australian academics seek to challenge the domination of a few publishing houses over scientific research. A study published in the Journal of Internet Medical Research last year found that 13% of peer-reviewed medical and science articles indexed by the online archive PubMed could be accessed free. The rest were behind a paywall and required a subscription or a fee to access the full research paper.”
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BBC is accused of bias in charging Indian government with suppressing report on child malnutrition
BMJ 2015;351:h3732
Author: Sanjeet Bagcchi
“Health experts in India have criticised the BBC over a recent report that claimed that a nutrition survey of 100?000 children in India was being suppressed to spare embarrassment to India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi.”
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Thousands quit cholesterol meds after viewing “unbalanced” TV program
SMH, 15 June 2015
Author: Harriet Alexander
“An ABC science show that controversially claimed cholesterol medication was “toxic” resulted in 60,000 people not taking their medication, potentially increasing their chances of heart attack or stroke. A University of Sydney study into the impact of the Catalyst program recorded a marked change in the use of statins directly after the two-part series was aired in October 2013. The program claimed the causal link between saturated fat, cholesterol and heart disease was “the biggest myth in history” and that cholesterol medication was toxic. It was slammed by cardiologists and medicine safety experts, who said it downplayed a body of evidence showing that cholesterol medication was effective.”
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What Causes Someone To Fake Cancer On The Internet?
Huffington Post, 23 April 2015
Author: Erin Schumaker
“Belle Gibson, the Australian Instagram star who claimed diet and lifestyle changes cured her terminal cancer – landing a book deal and an award-winning app as a result – admitted this week that she faked her cancer diagnosis. Australian media outlets note The Weekly’s speculation that Gibson might suffer from a psychological disorder known as factitious syndrome, a disorder in which an individual either creates or behaves as if she has physical or emotional symptoms of an illness.
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Is It Fair to Ask the Internet to Pay Your Hospital Bill?
The Atlantic, 12 March 2015
Author: Cari Romm
“Sites like YouCaring, GoFundMe, and Indiegogo Life cumulatively host thousands of pages set up by people looking for help with medical expenses, from cancer treatment to in-vitro fertilization (IVF). These crowdfunding pages are a place for family and friends to help out and receive updates on the status of a loved one’s health—but they’re also a place where strangers can log on and make a donation to someone they’ve never met before.”
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Dallas Ebola Nurse Slams Hospital, Claims They Used Her For PR
Huffington Post, 1 March 2015
Author: Jon Herskovitz, Lisa Maria Garza
“The first person infected with Ebola in the United States, nurse Nina Pham, said she was used for publicity purposes by her hospital, which also invaded her privacy and did not properly train her, the Dallas Morning News reported on Sunday.”
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Chile president visits girl with cystic fibrosis who posted euthanasia video
The Guardian, 1 March 2015
Author: The Guardian
“Chile’s president has visited a hospital to meet with a 14-year-old girl who shocked the country by pleading on YouTube for the leader to let doctors euthanise her because she was tired of her struggle with cystic fibrosis.”
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Windfarm study author threatens to sue Media Watch for misrepresentation
The Guardian, 23 February 2015
Author: Michael Safi
“ABC program criticised a report by the Australian’s environment editor which claimed a study by Steven Cooper found people living near windfarms faced a greater risk of health problems.”
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Is exaggeration in academic press releases related to investigators’ conflicts of interests?
BMJ 2015;350:h137
Author: Vercellini, P, Vigano, P, Somigliana, E
“Dissemination of scientific information by news media may influence patients and doctors’ decisions, so exaggerated interpretations in news stories could have harmful or costly effects. Sumner and colleagues found that exaggeration in science news was associated with inaccuracies in academic medical centres’ press releases.”
Find extract here.