Discussing vaccine and autism in a mainstream newspaper in Italy: A thematic analysis

Journal title PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE
Author/s Monica Pivetti, Silvia Potì, Silvia Di Battista
Publishing Year 2022 Issue 2022/3 Language English
Pages 22 P. 53-74 File size 379 KB
DOI 10.3280/PDS2022-003007
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Over the past few years, there has been a great deal of concern regarding the potential links between childhood vaccinations and the development of ASD, possibly leading to vaccine hesitancy. This study aims to explore the representational field related to the vaccine-autism link in a mainstream Italian newspaper. We analyzed newspaper articles published on La Repubblica, from January 2009 untill January 2017 (N = 168 newspaper articles), via T-Lab software. The analysis produced four clusters: a) Trust and sense of belonging; b) Judgment dimension; c) Catastrophic narratives; d) Organization of the public healthcare system. The need to monitor media coverage on key healthcare topics was considered of paramount importance.

Keywords: vaccine hesitancy, vaccine-autism link, media analysis, T-Lab, trust

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Monica Pivetti, Silvia Potì, Silvia Di Battista, Discussing vaccine and autism in a mainstream newspaper in Italy: A thematic analysis in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 3/2022, pp 53-74, DOI: 10.3280/PDS2022-003007