VAN DIJK, TEUN A., News as Discourse Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1988. $29.95 cloth. This book attempts the development of a "new, interdisciplinary theory of news in the press" (p. vii). It represents a very ambitious and somewhat speculative effort to weave together a broad range of existing news research approaches into a coherent, heuristic framework. Van Dijk succeeds in providing a useful summary of the literature in news research. Especially valuable is his discussion of recent European research. However, the overall framework is still at an early stage of development. Its utility remains to be demonstrated by future research. For some time now, communication researchers have talked of passing paradigms and ferment in the field. With the decline of past paradigms, our discipline has been left with a hodgepodge of small-scale theories. This is particularly true in the area of news research where various narrative, discourse and information processing theories abound. Van Dijk's book may signal a new era, an era in which efforts will be made to integrate existing conceptual fragments into broader frameworks. His work may be seen as providing a model for others who seek to make sense of our current proliferation of theories. Van Dijk's approach is centered in the tradition of discourse analysis, which evolved out of an integration of literary analysis and linguistics. However, he has aggressively modified earlier forms of discourse analysis in an effort to incorporate insights into the structure and interpretation of discourse derived from cognitive psychology. He is not content to simply apply discourse analysis to the evaluation of news stories. He recognizes the utility of constructing an approach which also considers the production of news by media practitioners and the interpretation of news by audience members. It is these broader concerns which set van Dijk's approach apart from previous analyses of news content. A central concept in van Dijk's theory is the notion of story schemas, which are defined as implicit structures that underlie typical stories. These schemas permit the easy production of news and also facilitate its interpretation by news consumers. The schema concept is at once powerful and ambiguous. There is growing research evidence that demonstrates the utility of positing the existence of cognitive structures (schemas) in people's minds which are activated by content cues and guide interpretion of all forms of communication. The schema concept helps to explain why complex and seemingly ambiguous messages often are easily interpreted by audience members. It also can explain why the same message can be interpreted in highly discrepent ways. If messages contain conflicting cues that lead people to activate different schemas, or if people don't share a homogeneous set of schemas, then it is likely that many contrasting interpretations of story content will be developed. But despite growing consensus concerning the utility of schema as a concept, researchers remain quite divided over both its definition and the type of research that will lead to the most useful findings. …

News as Discourse

http://dadun.unav.edu/bitstream/10171/58919/1/Heliyon_Reigada.pdf

Understanding illnesses through a film festival: An observational study.

Background:
Lack of social awareness is a major barrier to the development of palliative care. Mass media influences public opinion, and frequently deal with palliative care contributing to its image and public understanding.

Aim:
To analyse how palliative care is portrayed in Spanish newspapers, as well as the contribution made by the press to its social representation.

Design:
Based on criteria of scope and editorial plurality, four print newspapers were selected. Using the newspaper archive MyNews (www.mynews.es), articles published between 2009 and 2014 containing the words “palliative care” or “palliative medicine” were identified. Sociological discourse analysis was performed on the identified texts on two levels: a) contextual analysis, focusing on the message as a statement; b) interpretative analysis, considering the discourse as a social product.

Results:
We examined 262 articles. Politician and healthcare professionals were the main representatives transmitting messages on palliative care. The discourses identified were characterised by: strong ideological and moral content focusing on social debate, strong ties linking palliative care and death and, to a lesser degree, as a healthcare service. The messages transmitted by representatives with direct experience in palliative care (professionals, patients and families) contributed the most to building a positive image of this healthcare practice. Overall, media reflect different interests in framing public understanding about palliative care.

Conclusion:
The knowledge generated about how palliative care is reflected in the printed media may help to understand better one of the main barriers to its development not only in Spain, but also in other contexts.

/pdf/social-representation-of-palliative-care-in-the-spanish-2vycyccp4h.pdf

Social representation of palliative care in the Spanish printed media: A qualitative analysis

Despite 50 years of modern palliative care (PC), a misunderstanding of its purpose persists The original message that PC is focused on total care, helping to live until the person dies, is being replaced and linked to feelings of fear, anxiety and death, instead of compassion, support or appropriate care Society is still afraid to speak its name, and specialized units are identified as “places of death” as opposed to “places of life” meant to treat suffering This issue is prohibitive to the implementation and development of PC policies worldwide It is imperative to identify what message PC professionals are relaying to patients and other health care specialists and how that message may condition understandings of the right to access PC A qualitative study, employing focused ethnography and participant observation (PO) of the daily interaction of PC professionals with patients and family members in three different PC services Two researchers independently conducted a thematic analysis, followed by member checking with participants A total of 242 h of participant observation revealed the following messages sent by PC professionals in their daily interaction with patients and families: i) We are focused on your wellbeing; ii) You matter: we want to get to know you; iii) Your family is important to us The complexity of PC discourses contributes to the difficulty of identifying a clear universal message between PC professionals, patients and families The PC professionals observed transmit a simple message focused on their actions rather than their identity, which may perpetuate some social/cultural misunderstandings of PC It seems there is a common culture, based on the same values and attitudes, within the messages that PC professionals transmit to patients and their families PC teams are characterised by their availability

/pdf/palliative-care-in-its-own-discourse-a-focused-ethnography-8ojhsl02ln.pdf

Palliative care in its own discourse: a focused ethnography of professional messaging in palliative care

Objectives To explore the expressions of gratitude (EoG) received from patients and relatives and their influence on palliative care professionals (PCPs). Methods A national online survey was sent to a representative of PCPs of each service listed in the national directory of palliative care (PC) services (n=272) (ie, hospital PC support team, hospice, paediatrics, etc). The questionnaire was pilot tested with experts. It comprised three sections: the overall perspective of receiving gratitude in the service, the personal experience of its influence and sociodemographic questions. A mailing schedule was designed to enhance the response rate. Results 186 representatives from all over Spain completed the questionnaire (68% response rate). 79% of service representatives reported that they almost always received EoG. These came mainly from families (93%). These EoG were very often put on display (84%) and shared with other health professionals (HPs) involved in care (45%). EoG evoked positive feelings in the team members. Based on their experience, respondents attributed different functions to these EoG: increased professional satisfaction (89%), a source of support in difficult times (89%), mood improvement, encouragement to continue and rewards for effort (88%). Services, where gratitude was more frequently received, were associated with PCPs who more frequently reported being proud of their work (p=0.039, Pearson’s correlation test). Conclusions Gratitude from patients and relatives was frequent and significant to those who work in PC. HPs considered that EoG offer multiple beneficial effects and also a protective role in their practice against distress and an increase in resilience skills.

Gratitude from patients and relatives in palliative care—characteristics and impact: a national survey

Introduction 
The goal of palliative care (PC) is to improve the quality of life of terminal stage patients and their families. The subject frequently appears in the mass-media and this helps create a socially accepted identity. The aim of this study is to describe and analyse PC related news items appeared in the Spanish written media.


Methodology 
A descriptive cross-sectional study was designed. Considering diffusion, scope and the range in editorial policy criteria, four printed newspapers (PN) were selected, together with four exclusively digital media sources (DM). Through Mynews, a newspaper content depository, and the search tool for each DM website, articles published between 2009 and 2014 which included the terms "palliative care" and "palliative medicine" were sought. A questionnaire was created to characterise each article identified and a descriptive analysis was undertaken.


Results 
A total of 627 articles were identified, of which 359 (57%) were published in PN (42% in the printed editions -PE- 16% in their online editions -OE-) and 268 (43%) in DM. In general, they appeared mainly in sections concerning Health (23%), Culture and Society (18%) and General/Home News (15%). In PE, just 2% were found in the Health section and nearly 70% in Culture and Society and General/Home News. Most of the articles were informative in nature and contained socio-political messages (90%). Statements by PC professionals were found in 35% of the articles and by politicians in 32%. The most frequent content was related to facing end of life (74%) and patient quality of life (70%).


Conclusions 
The Spanish written media reflects the socio-political interest aroused by PC. Nevertheless, messages circulating about PC do not describe professional practice, or the contribution of the same for patients. Content more in line with the clinical practice might help contribute to the development of this new area of medicine.

https://dadun.unav.edu/bitstream/10171/47917/1/Plos_Carrasco.pdf

What does the media say about palliative care? A descriptive study of news coverage in written media in Spain.

Background University students are the future professionals who will influence society. It is thus essential to improve students' understanding of palliative care (PC), especially those in the non-health field, to generate and encourage propitious opinions about PC. This study describes the perceptions of PC among university students from different disciplines. Method Qualitative exploratory study using virtual focus groups (FGs) and design thinking (DT) approach. An intentional sample of students from various disciplines, universities and cities from Spain were selected. Numerous researchers from different fields were involved in the discussion of the final thematic analysis. Results Four themes and seven subthemes were found: i) Students have an ambiguous understanding about PC; ii) PC is not a common issue for non-health students; ii) Students see PC as an important and necessary field; iii) Students build counter-narratives against PC myths, demonstrating PC brings key benefits into people's lives; iv) PC is a synonym of death. Conclusion Despite the fact that students do not know much about PC, the topic easily arouses reflection and positive discussion. Through the conversations they find positive values and arguments against misunderstand- ing. Students from different disciplines could be the target of innovative educational initia- tives and the social debate on PC.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17482631.2021.1955441

Alejandro Navas

Papers

What does the media say about palliative care? A descriptive study of news coverage in written media in Spain.

Social representation of palliative care in the Spanish printed media: A qualitative analysis

Interdisciplinary discussions on palliative care among university students in Spain: giving voice to the social debate.