Media Coverage and the Evolution of Alzheimer's Disease in the Public Mind

While Alzheimer's disease (AD) is by definition a medical problem, it is also a public issue. How issues are defined in the media, and ultimately in the public mind, affects public investment in R&D as well as self-care and family planning behaviors. Communications theory suggests that newspapers of record, such as The New York Times, frame how problems are defined in public discourse, thereby defining the range of public responses. Content analysis is used to collect and analyze publications to understand what issues are on the public agenda and receiving public attention. We conduct a content analysis of The New York Times to track and analyze the public definition of AD on the American public agenda. Our study collected all articles (∼4,000) printed between 1906 and 2012 that included the word 'Alzheimer's'. These articles were counted, coded and analyzed for placement in the paper to indicate prominence, total word count to assess editorial attention, photos and title words to indicate emphasis, and section placement to understand how AD is described. Results suggest AD first received media attention in the late 1970s and began to receive significant attention in 1987 with ∼50 or more articles annually. Coverage was constant until 1997, then increased dramatically to a high of 325 articles in 2012 with a comparable increase in the use of photographs. Despite the increased attention given, the prominence (placement on page A1 or section 1) has been sporadic. Articles on AD in multiple sections have shown an upward trend with the greatest comparative frequency occurring in the Obituary, Culture and Health sections. The evolving definition of AD spans multiple contexts, including Sports, Style and Business. Reflecting an unclear scientific understanding of AD, media coverage presents an ambiguous definition of the problem, an unfocused public investment strategy, and little advice for individuals and families. We see the increased attention as an opportunity to refocus the issue on personal stories of Alzheimer's that will support R&D investment while urging the public to prepare for AD and related caregiving.