How do Canadian media report climate change impacts on health? A newspaper review

Nia King (), Katherine E. Bishop-Williams, Sabrina Beauchamp, James D. Ford, Lea Berrang-Ford, Ashlee Cunsolo, Research Team Ihacc and Sherilee L. Harper ()
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Nia King: University of Guelph
Katherine E. Bishop-Williams: University of Guelph
Sabrina Beauchamp: University of Guelph
James D. Ford: University of Leeds
Lea Berrang-Ford: University of Leeds
Ashlee Cunsolo: Labrador Institute of Memorial University
Research Team Ihacc: IHACC Research Team: Cesar Carcamo (School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH), Lima, Peru), Victoria L. Edge (Office of the Chief Science Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, Canada), Alejandro Llanos (School of Public Health and Administration, UPCH, Lima, Peru), Shuaib Lwasa (Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Climatic Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda), Didacus Namanya, Ugandan Ministry of Health
Sherilee L. Harper: University of Guelph

Climatic Change, 2019, vol. 152, issue 3, No 17, 596 pages

Abstract: Abstract Research on climate change media coverage is growing. Few studies, however, have investigated how the media portrays climate change impacts on human health. This review, therefore, presents a quantitative spatiotemporal analysis of Canadian newspaper coverage of climate change impacts on health between 2005 and 2015. Using the ProQuest® and Eureka® databases, a multiphase systematic review strategy was employed to identify relevant English and French articles from two national and six regional high-circulation newspapers. Quantitative and qualitative data were extracted from 145 articles and analyzed to characterize the range, extent, and nature of climate-health newspaper coverage in Canada and to compare these characteristics by region and over time. Coverage varied by region, with the highest proportion of climate-health coverage in Northern Territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut). Over time, there was a decreasing publication frequency trend. Almost all articles described negative climate change impacts on health, with a predominant focus on infectious and chronic noninfectious diseases; however, less than half of the articles discussed climate change solutions. These trends suggest that current media coverage might not drive widespread public support for policies and actions needed to protect against projected climate-health risks. Consequently, as climate change continues to challenge human health, increasing media emphasis on climate change impacts on human health, as well as a shift toward enabling and empowering climate change communication, in which viable mitigation and adaptation options are emphasized, could help to spur action to reduce climate change health risks.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1007/s10584-018-2311-2

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