[afro-nets] Roles of the media in disseminating health information

[A. Odutola <chpss_abo2@yahoo.com>]

Roles of the media in disseminating health information
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Interested in media and health information dissemination issues?
Then, check out the debate below organized by the Public Library
of Science (PLoS), USA and published Online, July 26, 2005.

Debate title:
What are the roles and responsibilities of the media in dissemi-
nating health information?


Background to the debate
------------------------

"In December 2004 three news stories in the popular press sug-
gested that the side effects of single-dose nevirapine, which
has been proven to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV,
had been covered up. Many HIV experts believed that the stories
were unwarranted and that they would undermine use of the drug,
leading to a rise in neonatal HIV infection. The controversy
surrounding these stories prompted the PLoS Medicine editors to
ask health journalists and others with an interest in media re-
porting of health, to share their views on the roles and respon-
sibilities of the media in disseminating health information."

Get full report from:
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020215

A. Odutola
mailto:chpss_abo2@yahoo.com