Diseases neglected by the media and strategies for visibility from the viewpoint of key actors

Abstract

Although health is a recurrent topic in newspapers, some diseases are visibly excluded from this coverage, originating diseases neglected by the media. The goal of this study was to identify – based on the opinion of journalists, press officers, health managers, and government health advisors – these diseases along with strategies for dealing with media neglect. The qualitative study was based on 19 semi-structured interviews with key actors. Data was submited to thematic content analysis using Maxqda software. The neglected diseases include infectious and parasitic diseases, rare diseases, periodontal diseases, cancer, and work-related illnesses.