Science and Society - Medicine and Media |Biomedgrid

The public's interest in health matters is growing more and more in parallel with the development of technology, the spread of media and mainly with the spread of the Internet. The increase in public interest is also evidenced by health inserts published by print media, regular health columns by journalists and doctors, health broadcasts on radio and television, specialized medical information portals, patient communities that are created on the Internet and present explosive growth. This information, whether the health editors seek it or not, shapes the public's perception of the health issues to which the specific information refers. We should emphasize the fact that people suffering from a chronic disease or their relatives are mainly the social sample that insists on searching for medical news or related information. But the media do not simply convey news, but the way, the time, the place they are reported and the terminology/vocabulary they use as well as the comments play a very important role in the public's perception of whether the issue presented is really serious or whether ultimately it can be a threat to the life of the patient concerned (listener-reader-viewer). But the question is: Do the mass media provide correct information on health issues?