Media Coverage of Herbal Remedies vs. Pharmaceuticals
Author Information
Author(s): Bubela Tania, Boon Heather, Caulfield Timothy
Primary Institution: University of Alberta
Hypothesis
How does newspaper coverage of clinical trials for herbal remedies compare to that of pharmaceuticals?
Conclusion
Media coverage of herbal remedy trials is more negative than that of pharmaceutical trials, which may mislead the public about the efficacy and safety of these treatments.
Supporting Evidence
- Herbal remedy clinical trials had similar Jadad scores to pharmaceutical trials but were significantly smaller.
- Newspaper coverage of herbal remedy clinical trials was more negative than for pharmaceutical trials.
- Errors of omission were common in newspaper coverage, particularly regarding trial details.
Takeaway
This study looked at how newspapers report on herbal medicine trials compared to regular medicine trials, finding that herbal trials often get more negative coverage.
Methodology
The study used a comparative content analysis of clinical trials and their newspaper coverage from 1995 to 2005.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to reliance on narratives from satisfied patients and lack of disclosure of conflicts of interest.
Limitations
The study only surveyed print media and focused on a small subset of newspaper stories directly related to peer-reviewed clinical trials.
Participant Demographics
Clinical trials were primarily from Western countries, with most published in high-ranking journals.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.0201
Confidence Interval
Not specified
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website