Canadian Newspaper Coverage on Harm Reduction Featuring Bereaved Mothers: A Mixed Methods Analysis

A growing body of evidence suggests that news media which includes a sympathetic portrayal of a mother bereaved by substance use can increase public support for harm reduction initiatives. However, the extent to which such news media coverage occurs in Canada is unknown, and research has not documented how the news media in Canada covers such stories. We undertook a mixed-method secondary analyses of 5681 Canadian newspaper articles on harm reduction (2000-2016). Quantitative analyses described the volume and content of harm reduction reporting featuring a mother whose child’s death was related to substance use while qualitative thematic analysis provided in-depth descriptions of the discourses underlying such news reporting. Newspaper articles featuring a mother whose child’s death was related to substance use were rarely published (n = 63; 1.1% of total harm reduction media coverage during the study period). Deductive content analysis of these 63 texts revealed that coverage of naloxone distribution (42.9%) and supervised drug consumption services (28.6%) were prioritized over other harm reduction services. Although harm reduction (services or policies) were advocated by the mother in most (77.8%) of these 63 texts, inductive thematic analysis of a subset (n = 52) of those articles revealed that mothers’ advocacy was diminished by newspaper reporting that emphasized their experiences of grief, prioritized individual biographies over structural factors contributing to substance use harms, and created rhetorical divisions between different groups of people who use drugs (PWUD). Bereaved mothers’ advocacy in support of harm reduction programs and services may be minimized in the process of reporting their stories for newspaper readers. Finding ways to report bereaved mothers’ stories in ways that are inclusive of all PWUD while highlighting the role of broad, structural determinants of substance use has the potential to shift public opinion and government support in favour of these life-saving services.越来越多的研究证据表明，若新闻媒体对因物质使用相关原因失去亲人的母亲进行共情式刻画，可提升公众对减害倡议（harm reduction initiatives）的支持度。然而，目前尚不清楚此类新闻报道在加拿大的出现规模，且尚无研究系统梳理加拿大新闻媒体对此类事件的报道方式。本研究对2000年至2016年间加拿大报纸上的5681篇减害相关报道开展了混合方法二次分析。定量分析部分统计了涉及因子女物质使用相关死亡而丧亲的母亲的减害报道的体量与内容；定性主题分析则深入剖析了此类新闻报道背后的话语逻辑。在此研究期间，涉及此类丧亲母亲的报道极为罕见（共63篇，占研究期内减害类媒体报道总量的1.1%）。对这63篇报道的演绎式内容分析显示，相较于其他减害服务，媒体对纳洛酮（naloxone）分发（占比42.9%）与监督式吸毒消费服务（supervised drug consumption services）的报道占比更高。尽管在这63篇报道中的多数（77.8%）里，母亲均倡导减害服务或政策，但对其中52篇文章的归纳式主题分析显示，报纸报道通过过度强调母亲的丧亲悲痛经历、将个体生平置于导致物质使用危害的结构性因素之上，以及在不同吸毒人群（People Who Use Drugs, PWUD）之间制造修辞性对立，削弱了母亲的倡导作用。在为报纸读者呈现丧亲母亲的故事时，其倡导减害项目与服务的声音可能被弱化。若能以兼顾所有吸毒人群的方式报道丧亲母亲的故事，同时强调物质使用危害的广泛结构性决定因素，则有望推动公众舆论与政府支持转向这些挽救生命的减害服务。