ABSTRACT

Background: International investigations of public awareness of aphasia indicate low levels of awareness and knowledge. Many studies identify the media as a powerful mechanism for increasing public awareness of health conditions. Media coverage of aphasia is lacking compared to other health conditions. To date, no research has investigated media coverage of aphasia in Ireland.

Aims: To investigate the written coverage of aphasia and/or dysphasia in the Irish print media.

Methods and Procedures: The Lexis Nexis database was searched between January 2013–2020 inclusive and all articles with the term “aphasia” and/or “dysphasia” in the headline and/or body of the text were retrieved. Retrieved articles were reviewed by both authors. Included articles were categorised independently using content analysis and the descriptors of aphasia in print media. The principles of thematic analysis supported the identification of themes across the data.

Outcomes and Results: A total of 34 articles were identified; 16 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Descriptions of aphasia varied across the data with “word only provided” (n =0); “definition provided” (n =8); “content provided” (n =8). The articles (n =16) featured a range of content about aphasia including: Lived experiences (n =6); Definitions (n =5); Information (n =3); Communication training (n =2). Four themes emerged from the data including (1) Language Impairment, (2) Support Structures, (3) Recovery Pathway, and 4) Impacts on Family.

Conclusions: Information about aphasia in Irish print media is sparse. The accuracy and quality of coverage are inconsistent which may be contributing to the limited levels of public awareness and knowledge of aphasia in Ireland. Accurate and increased media coverage has the potential to improve public awareness and knowledge and promote the inclusion of people living with aphasia in Irish society. A co-designed and targeted media aphasia awareness campaign is warranted.

摘要

背景：对失语症公众意识的国际调查表明意识和知识水平较低。许多研究将媒体确定为提高公众对健康状况认识的有力机制。与其他健康状况相比，失语症的媒体报道不足。迄今为止，还没有研究调查爱尔兰失语症的媒体报道。

目的：调查爱尔兰印刷媒体对失语症和/或语言障碍的书面报道。

方法和程序：在 2013 年 1 月至 2020 年（含）期间搜索了 Lexis Nexis 数据库，并检索了标题和/或正文中包含“失语症”和/或“失语症”的所有文章。两位作者都对检索到的文章进行了审查。使用内容分析和印刷媒体中失语症的描述对纳入的文章进行独立分类。主题分析的原则支持跨数据识别主题。

结果和结果：共鉴定出34篇文章；16 人符合纳入标准。失语症的描述因数据而异，“仅提供单词”（n  = 0）；“提供的定义”（n  = 8）；“提供的内容”（n  = 8）。这些文章 ( n  =16) 包含一系列关于失语症的内容，包括： 生活经历 ( n  =6)；定义（n  = 5）；信息（n  =3）；沟通培训（n  =2）。数据中出现了四个主题，包括 (1) 语言障碍、(2) 支持结构、(3) 恢复途径和 4) 对家庭的影响。

结论：爱尔兰印刷媒体中关于失语症的信息很少。报道的准确性和质量不一致，这可能导致爱尔兰公众对失语症的认识和知识水平有限。准确和增加媒体报道有可能提高公众意识和知识，促进失语症患者融入爱尔兰社会。有必要开展共同设计和有针对性的媒体失语意识宣传活动。