Developing a Critical Media Research Agenda for Health Psychology (article)
Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 11, No. 2, 317-327
(2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1359105306061190
© 2006 SAGE Publications
Developing a Critical Media Research Agenda for Health Psychology
Darrin Hodgetts University of Waikato, New Zealand
Kerry Chamberlain
Massey University, New Zealand
This article outlines reasons why psychologists should concern themselves with media processes, noting how media are central to
contemporary life and heavily implicated in the construction of shared understandings of health. We contend that the present research focus is substantially medicalized, privileging the investigation and framing of certain topics, such as the portrayal of health professionals, medical practices, specific diseases and lifestyle-orientated interventions, and restricting attention to social
determinants of health as appropriate topics for investigation. We propose an extended agenda for media health research to include
structural health concerns, such as crime, poverty, homelessness and housing and social capital.
