Long Covid Kids are pleased to share this important new study which includes recommendations to journalists.
It highlights discursive practices employed by journalists that contribute to epistemic injustice. The study’s findings also indicate a pattern of HCPs dismissing and stigmatising families impacted by Long Covid in CYP.
Future research should seek to understand how families with Long Covid feel about media characterisations, and how this impacts efforts to seek and receive care. While this study focuses on the experience of CYP with Long Covid, findings may be generalisable. Media reporting has been shown to contribute to epistemic injustice ME/CFS in a similar manner.
Based on this study’s findings, the researchers have identified recommendations for future reporting of Long Covid in CYP. These recommendations may be relevant to improve practices in reporting on other diseases in CYP.
Long Covid is the continuation or development of symptoms related to a SARSCoV2 infection. Those with Long Covid may face epistemic injustice, where they are unjustifiably viewed as unreliable evaluators of their own illness experiences. Media articles both reflect and influence perception and subsequently how people regard children and young people (CYP) with Long Covid, and may contribute to epistemic injustice. We aimed to explore how the UK media characterises Long Covid in CYP through examining three key actor groups: parents, healthcare professionals, and CYP with Long Covid, through the lens of epistemic injustice. A systematic search strategy resulted in the inclusion of 103 UK media articles.
We also have this post for families, to support them when reading medical research.
The dangers of repeated Covid infections, the importance of prevention, the benefits of ventilation and air filtration in public places such as schools and hospitals and the need for research into treatments for Paediatric Long Covid are all important matters that would benefit from enhanced media interest.
HCP - Health Care Professionals
CYP - Children & Young People
