How the media and audience frame abortion
A case study of Vietnamese online newspapers and readers’ comments
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15098573 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Vu Diep Le (Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam), Việt Hương Nguyễn (0000-0001-6651-2699, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-13 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Culture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13691058.2026.2622512 |
| PMID | 41618899 |
| OpenAlex | W7126279690 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 31 |
Vietnam is ranked among the countries with the highest abortion rates globally. However, there is limited data on how Vietnamese media and audience frame abortion. To fill the knowledge gap, this study analysed 198 articles about abortion from ten major Vietnamese online newspapers published between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2024; and 888 readers' comments from those articles. Grounded in framing theory and the Health Belief Model (HBM), this study employed content analysis to explore the media and audience frames of abortion and Chi-squared tests to examine the linkage between them. The study found five dominant abortion frames in online newspapers: 'threat', 'cues to action', 'criticism', 'self-efficacy', and 'barriers'. Four dominant audience frames include 'criticism and moral judgement', 'solutions and cues to action', 'sympathy', and 'threat'. While online newspapers have incorporated nearly all HBM constructs into their framing, these frames were not frequently adopted by the audience, suggesting that HBM-related media messages do not have a direct influence on public perceptions of abortion. Practice implications for journalists and health communicators to create a more balanced and positive media framing of abortion are discussed as a means of enhancing reproductive health knowledge and minimising the incidence of unsafe abortion
Abortion · Content analysis · Framing (construction · Grounded theory · Mass media · Newspaper · Perception · Vietnamese · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · Reproductive Health and Contraception
Analyzing Media Messages
Primary Sources of Health Information
Historical Origins of the Health Belief Model
News framing
Social Learning Theory and the Health Belief Model
Understanding the audience in framing research
How Do Social Media Influencers Support College Students’ Mental Well-Being? A Theory-Driven Content Analysis of YouTube Videos on Mental Health
Framing as a Theory of Media Effects
Between “Science” and “Superstition”
Coverage of Abortion in Select U.S. Newspapers
Defending the unborn’, ‘protecting women’ and ‘preserving culture and nation’
The stigmatisation of abortion
Investigating the relationship between knowledge of the media industry and media trust in a government-owned and government-controlled media system
Mediatization and the Disproportionate Attention to Negative News
The ongoing and contentious coverage of abortion in a progressive context
Framing
Emotions and decision rightness over five years following an abortion
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |