Television as a source of information on health and illness – review of benefits and problems

Journal Title: Progress in Health Sciences - Year 2015, Vol 5, Issue 2

Abstract

Despite the dominating and expansive role of the Internet, global reports on mass media still find television as the most popular source of information on health. The following paper is an attempt to systematize the knowledge concerning television broadcast dedicated to the subject of health and illness. The authors aimed to identify the benefits and limitations resulting from the use of the audiovisual means to convey information on health; diagnosing potential threats and explaining trends and possibilities of making use of the television to educate and improve health awareness of the viewers. A critical review of 47 papers published in Polish and international scientific journals in years 2010 – 2014 has been performed. They were categorized into 8 following sections: 1) health information in medical television series; 2) subject of health in reality television programmes and medical talk-shows; 3) health in television news programmes; 4) television and the issue of physical activity and nutrition; 5) television and selected stimulants (cigarettes/alcohol); 6) television and information about cancer and other diseases; 7) public service announcements concerning health/PSA; 8) television and health education/ edutainment. In the light of the conducted review, the television presents itself as a promising source of information on the topic of health and illness which, provided one maintains a cautious attitude as well as moderation, influences the level of knowledge of the viewers, identification of simple symptoms and constitutes an important source of education in terms of prevention and avoiding risk behaviours.

Authors and Affiliations

J Burzyńska, M Binkowska-Bury, P Januszewicz

Keywords

Related Articles

CXCR4+ and CCR5+ expression on blood lymphocytes and its changes in AIDS development in HIV/HCV coinfected patients

Purpose: To measure the CCR5+ and CXCR4+ expression on blood lymphocytes, its changes in AIDS development, and correlation of CCR5+ and CXCR4+ expression with a number of T-cells, T-helpers, cytotoxic T-cells, activated...

Influence of exposure to patient aggression and professional experience on the psychological condition of various groups of healthcare workers

Purpose:To analyze the relationship between the psychological condition of representatives from various professional groups of healthcare workers, the degree of their exposure to patient aggression, as well as with the...

 Health priorities of the Polish presidency and the previous presidencies of the European Union – comparative analysis

 The presidency of the Council of the European Union is a period in which a member state presides over the meetings of the Council of the European Union. While holding the presidency, the state sets its priorities f...

The clinical course of urolithiasis in children under 3 years of age

Purpose: Certain risk factors of urolithiasis may be diagnosed in 75% of children with stones. They include genetic, anatomic, metabolic and nutrition causes. The diagnostics' evaluation should determine and rule out ana...

 Selected risk factors for spastic cerebral palsy in a retrospective hospital–based case control study

 Introduction: Cerebral palsy (CP) is caused by damage to the motor control centers of the developing brain and can occur during pregnancy, during childbirth, or following birth. Purpose: To study the selected ris...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP76717
  • DOI -
  • Views 71
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

J Burzyńska, M Binkowska-Bury, P Januszewicz (2015). Television as a source of information on health and illness – review of benefits and problems. Progress in Health Sciences, 5(2), 174-184. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-76717