Gabe, Jonathan, Williams, Simon J. and Coveney, Catherine (2017) Prescription hypnotics in the news : a study of UK audiences. Social Science and Medicine, 174 . pp. 43-52. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.11.029

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Abstract

In 2012 the UK media reported the results of a paper in the British Medical Journal Open, including the finding that hypnotics increase the risk of ‘premature death’. Taking this media coverage as a case study, the paper explores UK people's responses and assesses the implications for the debate about the (de)pharmaceuticalisation of sleep. Two hundred and fifty one posts to the websites of 6 UK newspapers were analysed thematically, along with 12 focus group discussions (n = 51) of newspaper coverage from one UK newspaper. Four thematic responses were identified: bad science/ journalism, Hobson's choice, risk assessment and challenging pharmaceuticalisation. We found that most people claimed that the story did not worry them, even if they stated that they were using sleeping pills, and that focus group members generally appeared to respond in terms of their pre-existing views of hypnotics. The way in which lay expertise was drawn on in responding to the coverage was one of the most striking findings of the study. People referred to their own or others' experience of taking hypnotics to recognise the legitimacy of taking them or to weigh up the risks and benefits, as reflexive users. Overall, our case study cautions against making strong claims about the power of the media to legitimate de-pharmaceuticalisation. While the media may have such a role, this is in the main only for those who are receptive to such a message already.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	R Medicine > RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Hypnotics -- Press coverage -- Great Britain, Hypnotics -- Side effects, Readership surveys , Drugs
Journal or Publication Title:	Social Science and Medicine
Publisher:	Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd
ISSN:	0277-9536
Official Date:	February 2017
Dates:	Date Event February 2017 Published 23 November 2016 Available 21 November 2016 Accepted 7 September 2015 Submitted
Volume:	174
Page Range:	pp. 43-52
DOI:	10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.11.029
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
Funder:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC)
Grant number:	ES/H028870/1 (ESRC)

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