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Media framing of emergency departments: a call to action for nurses and other health care providers Thomas, Kimberley; Browne, Annette J.; Jiao, Sunny; Dooner, Caryn; Wright, Patrice; Slemon, Allie; Diederich, Jennifer; Wathen, C. N.; Bungay, Vicky; Wilson, Erin; Varcoe, Colleen, 1952-

Abstract

Background As part of a larger study focused on interventions to enhance the capacity of nurses and other health care workers to provide equity-oriented care in emergency departments (EDs), we conducted an analysis of news media related to three EDs. The purpose of the analysis was to examine how media writers frame issues pertaining to nursing, as well as the health and social inequities that drive emergency department contexts, while considering what implications these portrayals hold for nursing practice. Methods We conducted a search of media articles specific to three EDs in Canada, published between January 1, 2018 and May 1, 2019. Media items (N = 368) were coded by story and theme attributes. A thematic analysis was completed to understand how writers in public media present issues pertaining to nursing practice within the ED context. Results Two overarching themes were found. First, in ED-related media that portrays health care needs of people experiencing health and social inequities, messaging frequently perpetuates stigmatizing discourses. Second, media writers portray pressures experienced by nurses working in the ED in a way that evades structural determinants of quality of care. Underlying both themes is an absence of perspectives and authorship from practicing nurses themselves. Conclusions We recommend that frontline nurses be prioritized as experts in public media communications. Nurses must be supported to gain critical media skills to contribute to media, to destigmatize the health care needs of people experiencing inequity who attend their practice, and to shed light on the structural causes of pressures experienced by nurses working within emergency department settings.

Item Metadata

Title
Media framing of emergency departments: a call to action for nurses and other health care providers
Creator
Thomas, Kimberley; Browne, Annette J.; Jiao, Sunny; Dooner, Caryn; Wright, Patrice; Slemon, Allie; Diederich, Jennifer; Wathen, C. N.; Bungay, Vicky; Wilson, Erin; Varcoe, Colleen, 1952-
Contributor
University of British Columbia. Capacity Research
Publisher
BioMed Central
Date Issued
2021-07-04
Description
Background As part of a larger study focused on interventions to enhance the capacity of nurses and other health care workers to provide equity-oriented care in emergency departments (EDs), we conducted an analysis of news media related to three EDs. The purpose of the analysis was to examine how media writers frame issues pertaining to nursing, as well as the health and social inequities that drive emergency department contexts, while considering what implications these portrayals hold for nursing practice. Methods We conducted a search of media articles specific to three EDs in Canada, published between January 1, 2018 and May 1, 2019. Media items (N = 368) were coded by story and theme attributes. A thematic analysis was completed to understand how writers in public media present issues pertaining to nursing practice within the ED context. Results Two overarching themes were found. First, in ED-related media that portrays health care needs of people experiencing health and social inequities, messaging frequently perpetuates stigmatizing discourses. Second, media writers portray pressures experienced by nurses working in the ED in a way that evades structural determinants of quality of care. Underlying both themes is an absence of perspectives and authorship from practicing nurses themselves. Conclusions We recommend that frontline nurses be prioritized as experts in public media communications. Nurses must be supported to gain critical media skills to contribute to media, to destigmatize the health care needs of people experiencing inequity who attend their practice, and to shed light on the structural causes of pressures experienced by nurses working within emergency department settings.
Subject
Emergency Departments; Nurses; Nursing; Media; Health Equity; Social Justice; Stigma
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2021-07-16
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
DOI
10.14288/1.0400230
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/79017
Affiliation
Applied Science, Faculty of; Medicine, Faculty of; Non UBC; Nursing, School of
Citation
BMC Nursing. 2021 Jul 04;20(1):118
Publisher DOI
10.1186/s12912-021-00606-2
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher
Copyright Holder
The Author(s)
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

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Rights

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)