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A double dose of fear: A theory-based content analysis of news articles surrounding the 2006 cough syrup contamination crisis in Panama

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Abstract

This study applied the extended parallel process model (EPPM) to evaluate the crisis messages employed by the mainstream media and the government during the 2006 diethylene glycol (DEG) poisoning crisis in Panama. Messages were content analyzed for its use of tenets of the EPPM. Overall, the findings reveal that the news coverage clearly emphasized the threat of DEG poisoning over the efficacy of avoiding being poisoned. In addition, quantitative analyses showed that the information provided by Ministry of Health of Panama (MINSA) and the local news outlets were widely divergent. These data indicate that the majority (82 per cent) of MINSA press releases included a balance of both threat and efficacy elements, compared with only 29 per cent of Panama newspapers. Panama newspapers tended to emphasize threat alone.

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Notes

  1. On 9 November, MINSA put out four press releases on this issue, so we included those articles as well.

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Turner, M., Boudewyns, V., Kirby-Straker, R. et al. A double dose of fear: A theory-based content analysis of news articles surrounding the 2006 cough syrup contamination crisis in Panama. Risk Manag 15, 79–99 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/rm.2012.13

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