Theory Behind Contraceptives and the Media

The LA Times published an article on Sunday September 10, 2006 about physicians possibly giving their patients illegal contraceptives known as intrauterine devices. These devices are made of either plastic or metal and are placed inside the uterus. Medi-Cal and Family PACT probed physicians and ordered eight physicians to send letters to all women who had gotten the intrauterine devices since January 2005 because these devices may have been imported from Mexico or unlicensed Internet sources. However, one physician, Dr. Hezekiah Moore, refused to send letters to his patients because he did not believe he did anything wrong. Consequently, the state of California sent letters to all his patients to notify them of the possible dangers.

The contraceptive article touches upon topics such as agenda setting, monitors and blunters, framing, and patient satisfaction. According UC Santa Barbara Communication Professor Nabi, agenda setting pertains to the information presented in the media (Nabi, 2006, September 9). The audience believes that the news they see or read contains the most important issues (Nabi, 2006, September 9). Because this article was published in a well-known newspaper, people, particularly women, who read the article may believe the issue of illegal contraceptives is one of the most important health issues today.

Depending on whether they are more of a monitor or blunter, they will react to this news differently. Monitors are people who "scan for and magnify threatening cues" and blunters "distract from and ignore threatening information" (Nabi, 2006, August 30). Therefore, monitors who read this article are more likely to look for more information about the contraceptive, such as the dangers of using an illegal device or even the dangers of using the intrauterine device in general. These people will most likely look up information on the Internet; the information they find may worry them and cause them stress. But if the people who read the article have more of a blunting coping style, they are more likely to not seek out additional information and possibly avoid the situation altogether. Likewise, women who received the warning letters from their physicians who are blunters will most likely avoid removing the device and will ignore the potential problem. Women monitors who received the warning letters are more likely to be problem-focused and remove the device immediately.

Although it was most likely unintentional, the framing of the article is important to consider. Framing is how the information in the news is presented (Nabi, 2006, September 6). The contraceptive story begins with the headline "California Women Warned about UIDs" and then states that over 800 women in Southern California were being warned that their physicians gave them illegal contraceptives. However, the rest of the story states there are no specific threats and one physician under investigation claims he bought the intrauterine devices legally. This story catches people's attention with a headline that most people would not understand and therefore would be intrigued to find out what it means. Not everyone knows that IUD stands for intrauterine device and they probably want to know what California women are being warned about. Once people begin reading the article, they find that only Southern California women are affected and that there may not even be a threat. The LA Times staff writer has successfully caught people's attention, however, if they do not bother to read the whole article or they just skim through and do not completely understand it, they will probably think physicians in Southern California are giving people illegal contraceptives and may go so far as to think Southern California physicians should not be trusted.

Lastly, the article touches upon the concept of patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction can be increased with attentive listening on the physician's part, having one's emotions be acknowledged, being well-informed, having an appointment run smoothly, knowing what to expect, and having a balance between physician dominance and passivity (du Pré, 2005, p. 122-124). These traits are characteristic of collaborative communication, which is when patients and physicians are established as "peers who openly discuss health options and make mutually satisfying decisions" (du Pré, 2005, p. 66). In the article, it states none of Dr. Moore's patients complained about the intrauterine device, which implies that his patients were satisfied. Although not all patients tell their physicians if they are dissatisfied with them (du Pré, 2005, p. 59), it seems more likely they would voice their dissatisfaction when it comes to contraceptives because they may be worried about becoming pregnant.

This article sheds a lot of light on the practical implications of the theoretical concept. The media has a lot of influence, and through agenda setting it impacts how people see the world and what issues they consider important. Framing is a real concept the media uses and it is important for the public to understand it. The article pushes these concepts beyond what was discussed in class. For example, people who do not understand the concept of framing may not always read the entire article in a newspaper, or they will not watch an entire news clip on television. If they do this, they miss the real story because the news always begins stories with the facts and ideas they think will catch the public's attention. However, in many cases these stories are still being developed and the media often does not have all the facts. If people do not take the time to read the whole story, they will get the wrong impression and may feel the issue in the article is bigger than it really is. This would particularly affect monitors because monitors have a tendency to worry more and be more stressed. It is also interesting to note that many of the names of authorities were not revealed until the end of the story. This further contributes to the idea that people will not get all the facts straight or will not completely understand the story unless they pay attention and read through the whole article. Also, although it was not explicitly stated in the article, it was implied that 52 of the patients were satisfied with their intrauterine devices. This pertains to patient satisfaction, and it can be inferred that these patients were treated with respect and care. In other words, they were satisfied with how their physician communicated with them and consequently they also felt satisfied with their treatment.