As difficult it is to believe, the media may not be telling us the entire truth .. and medicine is not exempt from this. From a recent Bottom Line article citing the National Institute of Health:
1. Are the results from this study supported by the data? From different researchers, types of studies, a variety of people. For example: is there a valid link between smoking and lung cancer?
2. Was it a result of clinical trials or studies that did not get involved with the participants’ lives. Is there a valid cause-and-effect line.
3. How many people participated in this study? Were they appropriate for the study?
4. How many years was the study maintained?
As you can see, what the media shares with their readers can and will have a direct effect on the readers’ interpretations.
It is up to us, the reader, to discern what is omitted from the reports. This is not necessarily limited to medical information – politics, arguments, negotiations, even assessing challenges. Whose perspective is being used? Can you look at it in another way? What are you taking for granted? What do you believe is true that may not be?
It’s not what they wrote, it’s what the readers think they read.
