Abstract
Background: Media portrayals of emergency contraception (EC) may influence public health policy and the public's acceptance of this reproductive health option. Objectives: We investigated the accuracy of newspaper coverage of EC, 1992-2002. Methods: We conducted a content analysis of a sample of 1077 articles in 113 newspapers discussing both EC and abortion and determined the frequency of confusion between the two. Results: Of all articles, 44.5% (n=479) included at least one instance of confusion between EC and medical abortion. Inaccurate portrayal of the mode of action of EC as medical abortion occurred in 31.8% (n=343) of articles; 13.1% (n=141) inappropriately applied terms such as "abortifacient postcoital contraceptives" for EC. Conclusions: Errors were prevalent, persisted over time and may have contributed to incorrect beliefs about a form of contraception that is used infrequently, despite its potential to deter unintended pregnancy and abortion.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 14-21 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Contraception |
| Volume | 71 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2005 |
Keywords
- Content analysis
- Emergency contraception (EC)
- Media
- Medical abortion
- Newspapers
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Reproductive Medicine
- Obstetrics and Gynecology