Social representations of dengue in printed media: epidemiological, educational or political information?

Introducao - Ha reduzido conhecimento no campo da Saude Publica sobre a funcao social da midia em saude e, particularmente, sobre a relacao entre a midia e o contexto de uma epidemia associada a vetores biologicos, como a dengue. Diante desse quadro, optou-se por estudar a primeira epidemia de dengue em Ribeirao Preto, a qual ocorreu entre novembro de 1990 e marco de 1991. O fato dessa epidemia, assim como as demais, ter sido estudada apenas em seu aspecto biologico, desconsiderando o aspecto social, justifica a realizacao deste estudo. Objetivo - Investigar como se deu a construcao midiatica da primeira epidemia de dengue no municipio de Ribeirao Preto, de novembro de 1990 a marco de 1991, para os leitores dos jornais e revistas veiculadas na epoca. Metodo O material de pesquisa foram reportagens de jornais e revistas confeccionadas na regiao de Ribeirao Preto e na capital do Estado de Sao Paulo - as de grande circulacao na epoca da primeira epidemia de dengue em Ribeirao Preto, de novembro de 1990 a marco de 1991. O metodo adotado foi o Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo, fundamentado na Teoria das Representacoes Sociais. Resultados Foram resgatadas as representacoes sociais veiculadas pela midia e o poder de difusao dessas representacoes no processo de divulgacao cientifica para o publico em geral durante a primeira epidemia de dengue. A analise do conteudo midiatico permitiu apresentar os principais assuntos veiculados no noticiario por meio da elaboracao dos discursos. Conclusoes Foi possivel entender como se deu a construcao dos sentidos acerca da dengue: o jornal fez existir uma realidade epidemica. Comprovou-se a defasagem na informacao disponibilizada nos meios de comunicacao e observou-se vies politico nas reportagens veiculadas, desviando a atencao que deveria ser direcionada para educacao e promocao da saude. Salientou-se a importancia de formacao de profissionais que transitem na interface Saude Publica e Comunicacao para que questoes politicas nao prevalecam sobre questoes prioritarias de saude na midia impressaIntroduction There is limited knowledge in the field of Public Health about the social role of media in health and particularly on the relationship between the media and the context of an epidemic associated with biological vectors such as dengue. So, it was decided to study the first epidemic of dengue at Ribeirao Preto, which occurred between November 1990 and March 1991. This epidemic, like the others, was studied only in its biological aspect, ignoring the social aspect, which justifies this study. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate how was the media construction of the first epidemic of dengue in Ribeirao Preto, from November 1990 to March 1991 for the readers of newspapers and magazines circulating at the time. Method The research material were reports of newspapers and magazines made at Ribeirao Preto and at the capital of the State of Sao Paulo - the large circulation - at the time of the first dengue epidemic at Ribeirao Preto, from November 1990 to March 1991. The method adopted was the Collective Subject Discourse, which is based on the Social Representations Theory. Results Social representations in the media were rescued in the media and also the power of diffusion of these representations in the process of scientific diffusion to the general public during the first dengue epidemic. The analysis of media content allowed to present the main issues in the newspapers and magazines through the speeches elaboration. Conclusions In this research, it could be understood how was the construction of meanings about dengue: the newspaper created a reality epidemic. The lag of information provided by mass media was proven and there was political bias in the news published, diverting the attention that should be directed towards education and health promotion. A professional transiting the interface Public Health and Communication is important so that political issues do not prevail on priority issues of health in printed medi