National Newspaper Portrayal of U.S. Nursing Homes: Periodic Treatment of Topic and Tone

Abstract

Overall, our findings highlight the longitudinal variation in the four widely read newspapers' framing of nursing-home coverage, regarding not only tone but also shifts in media attention from one aspect of this complex policy area to another. The predominantly negative media reports contribute to the poor public opinion of nursing homes and, in turn, of the people who live and work in them. These reports also place nursing homes at a competitive disadvantage and may pose challenges to health delivery reform, including care integration across settings.