Pediatrician-Authored Opinion/Editorial Articles Published in Newspapers Before and After the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Samuel J Eggers; Brandon J Katz; Moira E Wood; Santiago V Aragon; Kimberly A Mukerjee; John C Carlson

doi:10.1016/j.acap.2023.11.009

Pediatrician-Authored Opinion/Editorial Articles Published in Newspapers Before and After the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Acad Pediatr. 2023 Nov 8:S1876-2859(23)00413-8. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2023.11.009. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Samuel J Eggers¹, Brandon J Katz², Moira E Wood², Santiago V Aragon², Kimberly A Mukerjee², John C Carlson³

Affiliations

¹ Triple Board Residency, Cincinnati Children's Hospital (SJ Eggers), Cincinnati, Ohio.
² Tulane University (BJ Katz, ME Wood, SV Aragon, and KA Mukerjee), School of Medicine, New Orleans, La.
³ Department of Pediatrics, Ochsner Health System (JC Carlson), New Orleans, La. Electronic address: john.carlson@ochsner.org.

PMID: 37949168
DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2023.11.009

Abstract

Background: Pediatricians publish opinion/editorials in newspapers as a form of advocacy. No research has characterized these publications to determine the scope of this communication.

Objective: We examined the characteristics of pediatrician-authored op-eds, comparing articles published in a seasonally matched six-month period before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We reviewed 249 pediatrician-authored op-eds (109 before COVID-19; 140 during COVID-19 pandemic) over two six-month periods accessed through America's Newspapers database in June 2021. Each article was coded for topics covered, presumed motivations for the publication, and communication techniques used.

Results: Total number of articles published by pediatricians was higher after the start of COVID-19 compared with a period before the pandemic. Authors commonly asked for legislative action before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, but within the COVID-19 pandemic authors more often asked for behavioral changes in the readers themselves. Personal stories were a common technique used in both time periods; shaming of government became more common during COVID-19.

Conclusions: These data provide context for additional studies examining the usefulness of op-eds in pediatrician advocacy.

Keywords: COVID-19; advocacy; newspaper; opinion editorial; pediatrician.