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Science Communication
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Limited Precision in Print Media Communication of West Nile Virus Risks

John P. Roche

Marc A. T. Muskavitch

Boston College

The emergence of West Nile virus in the United States provides an opportunity to examine the effectiveness with which the print media communicate risks associated with a specific health threat. The authors surveyed articles on West Nile virus published in major North American newspapers in the year 2000 to assess the efficacy of risk communication related to this disease. They found that articles generally presented risk information with a low degree of contextual precision; that is, information was generally more qualitative than quantitative, and quantitative information that was present generally did not provide the relative context of a denominator. Therefore, the information provided was of limited usefulness to readers, in that it was insufficient to help readers make personal decisions required to reduce overall personal risk while minimizing personal cost. Their findings suggest that there is a distinct need for the media to provide more precise information about health risks.

Key Words: West Nile virus • encephalitis • infectious disease • risk communication • public education

Science Communication, Vol. 24, No. 3, 353-365 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/1075547002250300
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