Representation of Health-Related Messages in Print Media Content Analysis of Iran, Hamshahri and Jam-e Jam Dailies

The media convey lots of topics to people within the framework of messages, one of the most important of which is health related topics.Health messages include those messages that are designed to change people's behavior in the health domain.They should provide information in proportion toindividuals and their concerns.Theyshould not merely receive messages suitableto their situation but should also act upon the behavior recommended in these messages.Therefore, it is important to take this point into consideration whetherhealth messages are designed as per specific principles and rules, or they are merely based on some assumptions of the message designer.This study has been conducted to identify various kinds of health-related messages and their framing. It has applied content analysis method reviewing 145 news articles in Iran, Jam-e Jam and Hamshahridailiesin the period between May2014 and August 2015.
The findings showed that among various health topics, these newspapers covered themes connected to benefits of health-related issues such as proper nutrition, exercise, and vaccination," more than others by 19.8 percent.News stories with awareness themes dealt with “recognition of a specific subject or behavior” by 74.3 percent.Educational messages aimed to “provide health information” by 50.8 percent. “Providing one or more simple solutions to reduce threats”comprise the highest goal of the persuasivemessages by 33.7 percent.