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Student Research Conference
Ethics of Media Coverage for an Ebola Outbreak in the U.S. a Public Health Prospective
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Student Research Conference
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Title
Ethics of Media Coverage for an Ebola Outbreak in the U.S. a Public Health Prospective
Usage & Reproduction Rights
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Type
Video recordings
URI / Handle
http://hdl.handle.net/1961/muislandora:3003
Created
2015-01-01T00:00:00Z
Abstract
Ebola first emerged in 1976, from deep within the wilderness of Kenya, along the Congolese River. In 2014, the largest Ebola outbreak occurred since the initial onset. Although the outbreak has primarily been contained to West African countries, the possibility that an outbreak could occur on U.S. soil became a reality. When infected American health care workers were evacuated from West Africa to receive treatment in the U.S., Ebola became a common household topic. Despite the limited number of cases, a large amount of speculation and hysteria surrounded the issue, creating a false illusion of danger. The public’s reaction has made it clear that preparedness should not be limited to the medical field. Considering that 90% of Americans gets their news from mainstream media, news anchors inherently have the power to mold the public's response in a public health crisis (API, 2015). They have influence to create a situation of frenzy or calmness. Due to this, a comprehensive preparedness plan must address the communication of a public health emergency. There are difficult moral questions public health professionals must address in order to uphold an ethical and moral presentation of disease. Our research will produce a set of ethical procedures to implement during an epidemic, which include individual privacy and the rights of the media to report on speculated cases of Ebola during an epidemic. This presentation will analyze how the media handled the case of Thomas Eric Duncan while using the ethical reporting guidelines utilizing the Mental Noise Theory.
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