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Celebrities and Breast Cancer: A Multidimensional Quali-Quantitative Analysis of News Stories Shared on Social Media

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  • Priscila Biancovilli

    (Doctoral School of Health Sciences, University of Pécs, 7621 Pécs, Hungary)

  • Lilla Makszin

    (Institute of Bioanalysis, Medical School, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary
    Szentágothai Research Center, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary)

  • Faten Amer

    (Doctoral School of Health Sciences, University of Pécs, 7621 Pécs, Hungary)

  • Alexandra Csongor

    (Department of Languages for Biomedical Purposes and Communication, Medical School, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary)

Abstract

In 2020, breast cancer was the most frequent type of cancer in 158 countries. To advise the population about risk factors and the importance of preventive measures, celebrities can be of great help, acting as spokespersons for reliable scientific information. The goal of this study is to analyse the content of news stories about breast cancer shared on different social media, examining how stories with celebrity presence are constructed. We performed a quali-quantitative multidimensional analysis of news stories in English that addressed breast cancer on the following social media platforms: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Reddit. We compared news stories with and without the presence of celebrities. Our sample consists of 1594 news stories that had at least 1000 total shares across all analysed social media; 262 news stories mention a celebrity (16.44%), while 1332 stories do not (83.56%). Nevertheless, the ones that feature celebrities are, as a rule, more shared. The percentage of stories with celebrities addressing breast cancer prevention is quite low (1.9%). The same can be said for mentions of scientific papers/specialist quotes (3.4%). This research may help outline some possible paths that healthcare organizations and communication professionals can take to improve breast cancer content available online.

Suggested Citation

  • Priscila Biancovilli & Lilla Makszin & Faten Amer & Alexandra Csongor, 2022. "Celebrities and Breast Cancer: A Multidimensional Quali-Quantitative Analysis of News Stories Shared on Social Media," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-10, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:15:p:9676-:d:881449
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kalichman, S.C. & Hunter, T.L., 1992. "The disclosure of celebrity HIV infection: Its effects on public attitudes," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 82(10), pages 1374-1376.
    2. Stacy Wood & Bryan Bollinger, 2020. "Predicting Changes in Patient Choice of Preventive Health Care after Celebrity Diagnoses," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(3), pages 302-310.
    3. Esin Ceber & Meral Turk & Meltem Ciceklioglu, 2010. "The effects of an educational program on knowledge of breast cancer, early detection practices and health beliefs of nurses and midwives," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(15‐16), pages 2363-2371, August.
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