Medicalization of Medical News:Viagra as an Example
Date Issued
2004
Date
2004
Author(s)
Lu, Hsiu-Chin
DOI
zh-TW
Abstract
近來性功能議題在報紙電視出現頻率增加，其中治療性功能勃起障礙藥物威而鋼之大量相關報導，對男性健康、女性健康及兩性關係影響極大，性功能過去在家
Recently the discussions on sexual ability appeared more frequently on newspaper and television. Among them, the extensive reports on Viagra that treats erectile dysfunction (ED) had remarkable influence on men’s and women’s health and their relationships. Once talked about inside family, the sexual ability now becomes a public topic because of Viagra. Therefore, there are critiques on the sale promotion by the media and Viagra abuse as a sexual stimulant. Is erectile dysfunction a disease? Do media reports facilitate the medicalization of sexual ability?
The purposes of this study are as following：
1. To analyze the impressions of Viagra reports and their relationships with the medicalization of sexual ability;
2. To investigate the history of therapies for erectile dysfunction (ED) and Viagra reports;
3. To examine the media’s strategy of reporting Viagra’s effect on treating ED
This study utilized the triangle cross examination method of the qualitative analysis that included content analysis, comment analysis, and in-depth interview. We collected the news about Viagra on the Ming Sheng News and the United Daily News from March 1st, 1998 to December 31st, 2003. The samples only included the reports written by journalists and foreign agencies. Content and comment analyses were done on the 570 samples acquired. We also collected the reports from seven press meetings by the Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Viagra. They were compared with the reports from the Chinese Daily Times, the United Daily News, and the Min Sheng News. In-depth interviews were done by two journalists, three pharmaceutical public relationship staff members, one urologist, and a government official, in order to understand the medicalization process of sexual ability.
The important findings of this study were:
Journalists’ broadcasts of doctors’ comment facilitated the medicalization of sexual ability. They provided indirect assistance to the pharmaceutical companies to promote the therapeutic drugs for sexual dysfunction. Government’s policies and attitudes led to the fact the media reports promoted the medicalization of sexual ability. Doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and journalists interacted and they assisted the medicalization of sexual ability in the medical news.
The reports showed the following：
1. Viagra reports increased considerably since May 1998. The peak of major reports was between the end of 1998 when it was approved by Department of Health and March 22nd, 1999, when it was on market.
2. Contents of Viagra reports had two categories,(1).pros and (2). cons. Pros quoted urologists or researches. Cons quoted non-urologist doctors or feminist organizations.
3. Pros had Western biomedical viewpoints that emphasized the need of treatment for sexual dysfunction that was regarded as a disease. Prescription of Viagra required the professional judgment of doctors and it helped the men with ED desiring to obtain an erection.
4. The Viagra reports had the content that transformed as following. (1). Progression of marketing Viagra; (2). Side-effects of Viagra; (3). Dramatic efficacy of Viagra; (4). Loss of attention on Viagra and the appearance of alternatives, new drugs and or other therapies to treat ED; (5). Men’s active role and ignorance of women’s sexual function.
5. Cons had two categories, psychosocial model and critiques of the medicalization. The former contributed sexual dysfunction to the psychosocial factors that included faulty marriage, extreme desire to have a son, and inappropriate environment. The latter opposed the monopoly of Western medicine that over-emphasized the importance of medical care or hospital visits and it uncovered the profits of pharmaceutical companies or the medical system and the validity of population health.
6. The construct strategies of reporting sexual dysfunction: the once confidential sexual issues were discussed in public because of Viagra that treated erectile dysfunction. In addition, it was a prescription drug. So the reports suggested the medical coverage of sexual dysfunction and emphasized the early intervention.
7. The construct strategies of Viagra’s efficacy on sexual dysfunction included: (1). Medical authorities, extensive scientific research evidence, and investigation data emphasized the importance of treatment; (2).Viagra was a prescription drug that required the doctor’s instructions; (3). Government used policy to regulate it; (4). Patients shared their experience of successful sex by taking Viagra.
8. Cons construct strategies with reporting sexual ability provided solutions other than Viagra. It was not some elixir and did not need a psychosocial adjuvant, as stated by psychiatrists. Sexual degeneration was a normal aging process of older men. Feminist groups and scholars of sociology or public health also suggested that sexual dysfunction might not need therapy.
9. Journalists’ news quoted the content of the press meeting provided by the pharmaceutical companies. Few journalists questioned the accuracy of the research. The interviewees mainly consisted of the invited urologists, cardiologists, or researchers, but not doctors of other specialties.
10. There were exaggerations in the news reports about Viagra and sexual ability. Journalists and doctors accepted the sponsorship by pharmaceutical companies to attend international conferences. Only a few of those journalists invited did not attend although they were aware that it was related to sales and promotion. They were reluctant to give up the related news clues and competitions. Doctors thought their sales and promotions of pharmaceutical companies created the mutual benefits among doctors, patients, and pharmaceutical companies. Television media had pressure from limited interview time and audience rate, so they could not examine problems in depth and were prone to be the tools of doctor’s profession. Publication journalists had more time for investigation but still had difficulty to outsmart doctors.
This study had four suggestions:
1. Journalists should be skeptical of the medical profession. Media should re-evaluate the news content about sexual ability and avoid the commercial influence on journalism profession.
2. Current laws and regulations do not allow the promotion of drugs masked as news. Government should inspect and warn news organization with obvious medicalization.
3. When handling related news, the media should not pay attention only to scientific authorities, pharmaceutical companies, or government announcements, but also include other viewpoints from the other groups such as feminists, consumers, etc, to provide more broad-spectrum information.
4. People can act as a smart agent who read and listen. Every media agency had customer’s service center. When there was doubt about any related medical report, everyone could call them and ask for the source of institution or author, or could seek information on the Internet, but rather than accept all the content blindly.
Subjects
醫藥新聞
專業意理
威而鋼
醫療化
professional ideology
Ｖiagra
medicalization
SDGs
Type
thesis
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