Health Journalism
Study Course Implementer
Riga, Dzirciema Street 16, kfko@rsu.lv, +371 67409183
About Study Course
Objective
Preliminary Knowledge
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge
1.Students acquire knowledge of: • Health media system and health journalism. • Assessment criteria for health journalism. • Ethics and legal aspects of health journalism. • Sources of health journalism and criteria for their selection.
Skills
1.• Recognise the manifestations of health journalism. • Understand professional approaches in health journalism. • Use knowledge of health journalism in improving its quality. • Apply knowledge to improve the quality of health journalism. • Analyse health journalism practices.
Competences
1.Recognise, organise, prepare and evaluate health journalism by assessing its professional quality, ethics and legal issues.
Assessment
Individual work
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Title
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% from total grade
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Grade
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1.
Individual work |
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-
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Students have to independently prepare for classes by reading the compulsory literature for each topic and by selecting at least one text from the recommended additional literature. Preparation of the test assignment.
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Examination
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Title
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% from total grade
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Grade
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1.
Examination |
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-
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Knowledge of the basic issues of the topics covered, the ability to apply the knowledge in planning, managing and analysing practical projects (assessed on a 10-point grading scale).
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Study Course Theme Plan
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Basics of health journalism: approaches and practices. Quality and fake information in health journalism.
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Health journalism in professional media and social media in Latvia.
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Analysis of health journalism examples in the EU and other countries of the world.
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Legal basis for health journalism.
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Information collection methods in health journalism and issues of professional ethics.
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Health journalism sources, their structure, responsibilities and rights.
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Issues of professional relationship between journalists and doctors.
Doctors as sources of information and authors.
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Current topics in health journalism; analysis of health journalism examples.
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Class/Seminar
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Preparing and presenting health journalism material (an article, audio or video story).
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Class/Seminar
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Preparing and presenting health journalism material (an article, audio or video story).
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Bibliography
Required Reading
Statement of Principles for Health Care Journalists Gary Schwitzer, http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020084&type=printable
Frost Chris, Journalism Ethics and Regulation, NewYork: Routledge, 2016.
Robert G. Picard and Minhee Yeo, Medical and Health News and Information inthe UK Media: Current State of Knowledge. State of Public News and Information in the UK on Health and Health Care Research Project, Reuters Institute of Journalism Study, https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Media%20and%20UK%20Health_0.pdf Views of health journalists, industry employees and news consumers about disclosure and regulation of industry-journalist relationships: an empirical ethical study. J Med Ethics. 2015 Mar;41(3):252-7. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2013-101790. Epub 2014 Mar 6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24603036
Views of health journalists, industry employees and news consumers about disclosure and regulation of industry-journalist relationships: an empirical ethical study, Journals of Medical Ethics, http://jme.bmj.com/content/41/3/252.alerts
Big Tobacco and the Hound of Hell. Tracking Cigarette Companies’ Strategy for Developing Countries. By Ricardo Sandoval, Center of Health Journalism, https://www.centerforhealthjournalism.org/resources/lessons/big-tobacco-and-hound-hell
Media law, ethics and regulation, http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zyt282p/revision/2
Media coverage of health issues and how to work more effectively with journalists: a qualitative study, Julie Leask, Claire Hooker and Catherine King, BMC Public Health201010:535, https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-10-535
Caulfield T (2004) The commercialisation of medical and scientific reporting. PLoS Med 1: e38.
Additional Reading
Finding and Evaluating Online Resources on Health Issues, https://nccih.nih.gov/health/webresources
'Of All the Categories of Fake News, Health News Is the Worst', The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/06/of-all-the-categories-of-fake-news-health-news-is-the-worst/531540/
NHS looks into Labour campaign group's 'fake news' poster claiming health service will cost £4,500 a year in insurance premiums from 2018, The Telegraph
Revealed: How Dangerous Fake Health News Conquerred Facebook, Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/fake-news-health-facebook-cruel-damaging-social-media-mike-adams-natural-health-ranger-conspiracy-a7498201.html
The Fake Freedom of American Health Care, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/opinion/the-fake-freedom-of-american-health-care.html
Other Information Sources
Doctus, Bonus Medicus, Latvijas Ārsts, Veselība, Ievas Veselība, rutks.lv, la.lv