Providing Hope or Assigning Blame? Healthism in Print Media Portrayals of Dementia Risk and Responsibility
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5954323 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Felicity Slocombe (0000-0001-9602-336X, Faculty of Health and Social Care Department of Applied Dementia Studies University of Bradford Bradford UK, corresponding author), E Peel (0000-0002-0017-1024), Peel Elizabeth, Alison Pilnick (0000-0003-0987-8760, Faculty of Health and Education, School of Nursing and Public Health Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester UK), Albert (0000-0003-1043-1237), Albert Saul, Saul Albert (Centre for Research in Communication and Culture School of Social Sciences and Humanities Loughborough University Loughborough UK) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | e70115-e70115 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociology of Health & Illness (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0141-9889 • E-ISSN: 1467-9566 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/1467-9566.70115 |
| PMID | 41215670 |
| OpenAlex | W7104607494 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 57 |
Media representations often imply that dementia is preventable through lifestyle choices, potentially blaming individuals for their condition. Crawford's ideology of healthism outlines this form of responsibilisation. Our thematic discourse analysis of focus group discussions demonstrates how different stakeholder groups interpret print media messages differently, with prevention messaging that promotes health behaviours among the general population, simultaneously felt as stigmatising those already affected by dementia. Participant discussions almost exclusively focused on individual-level risk factors (e.g., diet and genetics) rather than population-level modifiable risks (e.g., air pollution and education), reflecting current print media and policy framings. It is worth noting that while participants saw their own/their loved one's dementia as unpreventable, they viewed other cases, especially vascular dementia, as preventable through health choices. Our analysis shows how healthist ideals especially stigmatise specific dementia diagnoses, highlighting where healthist messaging may be particularly harmful. We recommend that media outlets and policymakers emphasise population-level interventions alongside individual actions, and avoid language implying personal responsibility for developing dementia. Our analysis demonstrates how Crawford's healthism is relevant for understanding media representations of dementia, as well as highlighting some much-needed changes
Dementia · Focus group · Health communication · Mass media · Print media · Psychological intervention · Stakeholder · Thematic analysis
Glossary of transcript symbols with an introduction
Thematic Analysis
Forget Memory
Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
Confidentiality and Autonomy
Dementia on Facebook
Representations of dementia and their role in social expectations regarding ageing
Thinking through participatory action research with people with late-stage dementia
Who's talking
Extreme case formulations
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Well-prefaced turns in English conversation
Discursive Psychology
Healthism
Frames and counter-frames giving meaning to dementia
The Experts' Advice
Your Brain Matters
Health as a meaningful social practice
Repelling neoliberal world-making? How the ageing-dementia relation is reassembling the social
Lung cancer after the genomic turn
Making Sense of S&M
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |