Article type
Year
Abstract
Background: Apart from the launch of Cochrane Malaysia in 2014 and one small mention of a Cochrane Review in the one of the English newspapers’ reports (1), there has been virtually no coverage of Cochrane Reviews in any of the Malaysian media. We wanted to explore the reason for this.
Objectives:
1. To determine exposure to training on health reporting, including duration and source of training.
2. To identify where Malaysian journalists reporting on health issues obtain their information and how they interpret the information obtained.
3. To determine their knowledge and use of Cochrane as a source of information.
Methods: An online questionnaire was sent to contact emails of all major print newspapers in Malaysia and to the National Press Club of Malaysia in April 2016.
Results: We received only 25 responses (20 usable responses) from 306 emails, mainly from English language newspaper journalists (75%) in senior positions (75%). Forty per cent regularly report on health-related issues; 95% did not have any formal training in health reporting or reading a medical research paper, but 50% were interested in workshops about health reporting. Most of the respondents did not know that systematic reviews were the most reliable source of information and 90% obtained their information by directly contacting healthcare professionals. Only one person had heard of and accessed the Cochrane Library and Cochrane Evidence, but never used any of its contents.
Conclusion: The response rate was extremely poor and further investigation is needed into why this was so. However, almost all of those who responded lacked any training on health reporting at all, but did express an interest in attending workshops. This is an ideal opportunity for Cochrane Malaysia to introduce Cochrane as source of trusted evidence, starting with this group of professionals.
Reference:
1. http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/10/28/doc-hard-to-prove-cause-of-symptoms/ (Last accessed 19 April 2016)
Objectives:
1. To determine exposure to training on health reporting, including duration and source of training.
2. To identify where Malaysian journalists reporting on health issues obtain their information and how they interpret the information obtained.
3. To determine their knowledge and use of Cochrane as a source of information.
Methods: An online questionnaire was sent to contact emails of all major print newspapers in Malaysia and to the National Press Club of Malaysia in April 2016.
Results: We received only 25 responses (20 usable responses) from 306 emails, mainly from English language newspaper journalists (75%) in senior positions (75%). Forty per cent regularly report on health-related issues; 95% did not have any formal training in health reporting or reading a medical research paper, but 50% were interested in workshops about health reporting. Most of the respondents did not know that systematic reviews were the most reliable source of information and 90% obtained their information by directly contacting healthcare professionals. Only one person had heard of and accessed the Cochrane Library and Cochrane Evidence, but never used any of its contents.
Conclusion: The response rate was extremely poor and further investigation is needed into why this was so. However, almost all of those who responded lacked any training on health reporting at all, but did express an interest in attending workshops. This is an ideal opportunity for Cochrane Malaysia to introduce Cochrane as source of trusted evidence, starting with this group of professionals.
Reference:
1. http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/10/28/doc-hard-to-prove-cause-of-symptoms/ (Last accessed 19 April 2016)