Health Scare Tabloid Stories Trouble Patients

They usually say tabloids are nothing but clean, somewhat harmless fun that allows us, the public, to indulge in some good gossip without consequences. However, speaking strictly from a health perspective, tabloids are anything but harmless, worried doctors say in a new survey cited by OnMedica News, because they spread panic among patients and give them one more reason to fret about.

Experts are constantly faced with situations in which they have to offer constant reassurances to patients who shouldn’t be worried in the first place, just because they happened to read a tabloid story. This happened, for instance, with Michael Jackson’s accidental death from a lethal dose of Propofol, but also following movies like “Awake,” in which the lead character remains conscious under anesthesia.

“Eight out of ten (84%) doctors say the public are more susceptible to health scares these days according to the poll published in BMA News. The BMA News Doctors Decide snapshot poll asked doctors how coverage of health issues impacts on them and their patients. […] And 80% of doctors did not believe the government was doing enough to rebut the scare stories.” OnMedica writes of the findings.

Moreover, when the issue is not that of tabloids covering to an extensive degree such cases that could be classified as “health scares,” there is also the question of certain publications running stories without checking the facts. This also contributes to people becoming unnecessarily scared and worried about their health. On the other hand, as the government can’t possibly gag tabloids from covering such stories, it would seem this is a problem with no clear solution in sight.

“BMA News asked the questions following the recent scare over the HPV vaccination. Natalie Morton, aged 14, died shortly after receiving the cervical cancer jab. A post mortem revealed there was no connection between her death and the vaccine. A Staffordshire GP trainee said breaking the HPV vaccine story before the cause of death was determined was irresponsible as it turned out to be irrelevant. However, the fact the story was run adds an element of doubt to the public’s mind.” the same publication concludes by saying.