Newspaper Coverage of Hospitals During a Prolonged Health Crisis: Longitudinal Mixed Methods Study.

Area of Science:

• Health communication
• Media studies
• Public health

Background:

• Effective public communication via newspapers is crucial during health crises.
• Hospitals served as key information sources during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet their media portrayal remains under-examined.
• This study investigates newspaper reporting on Dutch hospitals during the pandemic's initial year.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze newspaper coverage of hospital situations in the Netherlands during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To evaluate the alignment between newspaper reports and actual hospital practices.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods longitudinal design was employed, comparing internal hospital data (crisis documents, video communications) with regional newspaper articles.
• Data from 5 Dutch hospitals and 14,401 newspaper articles were analyzed.
• Content, thematic, and chi-square analyses were used to compare reporting themes.

Main Results:

• Newspaper articles significantly emphasized COVID-19 capacity, regular care capacity, and public support more than internal data.
• Conversely, reporting focused less on material resources and policies and protocols.
• Discrepancies varied across pandemic waves, with some newspaper themes preceding internal data; no misinformation was detected.

Conclusions:

• Newspaper coverage of hospitals during the pandemic showed significant thematic differences compared to internal data, attributed to gatekeeping roles.
• Awareness of these gatekeeping roles is vital for effective information dissemination during health crises.
• Newspapers can serve as credible information sources for the public and provide valuable insights for hospitals.