JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

A healthcare system is intertwined with multiple stakeholders—the government institutions, pharmaceutical companies, patients, hospitals and clinics, healthcare professionals, health researchers and scientific medical experts, patients and consumer organizations, and media organizations. Physicians and journalists are the key actors who play a significant role in making the healthcare services and health information accessible to the people of a country.

Objective:

This study aimed to explore the tensions and alliances between medicine and the media in Bangladesh along with identifying strategies that could potentially improve the often-contentious relationship and quality of medical journalism.

Methods:

We conducted a cross-sectional survey using the snowball sampling technique through a web-based survey. All Bangladeshi citizens aged 20 years or above that belonged to the two selected professional groups – physician and journalist, understood the survey content, and agreed to participate in the survey were considered eligible for inclusion in the study.

Results:

A total of 419 participants completed the survey, 219 of whom were physicians and 200 were journalists. Among physicians, 53.4% reported a lower trust towards journalists' professional domain and expertise, whereas, among journalists, 43.5% of participants had a lower trust towards physicians' professional domain and expertise. In terms of 'Perception about not having respect for each other,' the median value for the physicians was 5 (strongly agree), whereas it was 3 (agree) for the journalists. We also found that the males (AOR: 0.45, compared with females) and medical officers (AOR: 0.30, compared with specialists) had significantly higher odds of lacking trust in journalists' knowledge, skills, and professional integrity. When rating the statement "Regular professional interaction between journalists and doctors may improve the relationship between the professional groups," most physicians (85%) chose 'Neither agree nor disagree,' whereas most journalists (53%) said that they 'slightly agree.'

Conclusions:

Both physicians and journalists in Bangladesh negatively perceive each other. However, physicians have a more negative perception of the journalists than the journalists have of the physicians. Strategies like a legal framework to identify medical−legal issues in reporting, constructive discussion, professional interaction, and capacity-building training programs may significantly improve the relationship between physicians and journalists.