Journalistic texts on public health and health management in the newspaper El Pais, 2001-2016

Introduction: the press has acquired a relevant role in health education, knowledge and expectations in society. Objective: to carry out a descriptive analysis of the issues related to public health and health management published in the newspaper El Pais during 2001-2016. Methods: A documentary study was carried out, with a quantitative approach, selecting documents related to public health and health management, contained in the body of journalistic texts on Medicine and Health of the CONPRE-Oviedo collection. Results: 265 journalistic texts on public health and 365 on health management were identified. Public health was linked to disease prevention and health promotion (30.9%), epidemiology (25.3%), illicit drugs, alcohol and tobacco (25.3%). The texts on health management focused on macro-management (61.3%), meso-management (27.9%) and micromanagement (10.7%). The articles were preferably informative, from an institutional source, and mostly included in the Society section. Texts on disease prevention and health promotion were based on scientific publications. Society is the section where they are most frequently published. Conclusion: the newspaper El Pais has frequently covered topics related to public health and health management, so journalistic texts could contribute to population education and to the generation of a critical attitude towards health.

Automated summary

The study found that the newspaper El Pais frequently covered topics related to public health and health management from 2001 to 2016, including disease prevention, health promotion, and different levels of management. The articles were mostly informative, came from official sources, and were mainly published in the Society section.