Public Engagement

'Health in the news: Fact or fiction' was an interactive Question Time style debate on the role of the media in public understanding of health issues. Panellists included prominent health journalists and public health researchers. Organised by MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at the University of Glasgow the event was part of, and funded by the MRC Festival of Medical Research 2018.

The media can be a powerful ally and there has never been so much interest in health stories. But controversial headlines and conflicting stories in the press about issues like e-cigarettes, alcohol, cancer, vaccinations, and obesity mean the public can be confused about health research and what the evidence actually says. For journalists, press releases can be too scientific, full of jargon or simply not newsworthy. While health researchers can be frustrated that their research is misrepresented and nuances lost when covered in the press. This debate sought to bring together journalists, researchers and the public to discuss how complex health stories can be made clear and accessible to the public.

After each panel member had a chance to put forward their own views on health in the news, the Chair and audience posed some challenging questions which led to lively discussion. The journalists on the panel talked about how there are now fewer specialist health journalists and limited opportunity to read beyond press releases or check out other sources. Often press releases are printed without editing and these can actually be the source of inaccuracies. They suggested that building personal relationships is key to achieving good, accurate coverage and social media has opened up these lines of communication. The academics said that the media has supported many important public health interventions and awareness campaigns, but it can be frustrating to see sensational headlines which can mislead readers and undermine studies.

In the MVLS Engagement Awards, Christina Buckton MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit was an Individual Winner of an MVLS Engagement Award 2018 rewarding good public engagement practice with MVLS research.

The event was chaired by freelance journalist and broadcaster, Pennie Taylor. We were delighted to welcome highly experienced journalists Kevin McKenna (former deputy editor of the Herald and executive editor of the Daily Mail in Scotland), Clint Witchalls from The Conversation and Helen Puttick from The Herald. Professors Shona Hilton, from the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at the University of Glasgow, and Linda Bauld, then Professor of Health Policy and Director of the Institute for Social Marketing and Dean of Research Impact at the University of Stirling, completed the panel line-up.

90 people registered for the event with a good mix of health professionals, members of the public, researchers and students attending on the night.

The event was an opportunity to engage a wider audience in the work of the SPHSU’s Informing Healthy Public Policy research programme and was clearly aligned with current MVLS research. The SPHSU’s Deputy Director, Professor Shona Hilton, specialises in carrying out media analyses of topical public health issues including minimum pricing for alcohol, childhood obesity and the sugar tax so was able to draw on this research during the event.

We also had the chance to showcase our Understanding Health Research online tool. An interactive tool which guides people through a series of questions to help them review and interpret a published health research paper. At this event people could visit the "Booth of Confusion" to try the tool for themselves.

The intended outcomes were to bring together the very different worlds of journalism and academia to discuss and debate how health stories are covered in in the mass media. We also wanted to showcase our own research into media representations of health research to the panel and audience which we achieved through Professor Hilton's participation.

We used an interactive voting system to measure impact. The audience were asked the same question at the beginning and end of the event - Health in the news: Fact or fiction? At the beginning, only 7% said fact, 53% said fiction and 40% were unsure. By the end of the debate, this had changed to 21% fact, 7% fiction and 72% unsure. This suggests that hearing directly from journalists had some impact on the audience's views of how health is reported in the news.

The audience and panel members were also asked at the end of the event "Will this debate change the way you interpret the next health story you read?" Two thirds (67%) said it would. This suggests that debating the issues with health journalists and academics improved understanding of what makes a 'good' story.

The debate generated significant positive attention on Twitter using the hashtag #HealthinHeadlines. One attendee tweeted: "Very insightful evening @The_MRC festival event hosted by @theSPHSU. Great insight to how health academics and the media currently work together and how things can improve moving forward."

The event format was a first for the SPHSU and afforded a skills development opportunity for the researchers involved. It was a definite advantage to have an enthusiastic planning and organising team from across the Unit including the Engagement & Communications Officer, and researchers from both the Informing Healthy Public Policy research programme and the Neighbourhoods and Communities research programme.

Be prepared to “sell” the event and don’t underestimate the time needed to organise – particularly when seeking to attract interesting panel contributors and as many members of the general public as possible.

Make maximum use of social media!

The SPHSU was inspired to organise another similar events around other areas of the Unit’s research.  Dr Michael Green chaired a panel discussion “Towards a Tobacco-free Generation: Where next?”

The event provided an opportunity for highly respected journalists to find out more about the work of the SPHSU and to establish, or in some cases, continue, a positive relationship with the Unit. Health journalist Helen Puttick said she would definitely try using our Understanding Health Research tool.

At the event we gathered useful contacts from people interested in the Understanding Health Research online tool, as well as signing people up to the SPHSU's mailing list.

Christina Buckton, Informing Healthy Public Policy Programme , MRC/CSO SPHSU

Telephone: 0141 353 7616