Faculties of Law and Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta , Canada ; Health Law Institute, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta , Canada.
Health Law Institute, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta , Canada.
PeerJ. 2014 Jul 31;2:e500. doi: 10.7717/peerj.500. eCollection 2014.
Background. Biobanks are an important research resource that provides researchers with biological samples, tools and data, but have also been associated with a range of ethical, legal and policy issues and concerns. Although there have been studies examining the views of different stakeholders, such as donors, researchers and the general public, the media portrayal of biobanks has been absent from this body of research. This study therefore examines how biobanking has been represented in major print newspapers from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States to identify the issues and concerns surrounding biobanks that have featured most prominently in the print media discourse. Methods. Using Factiva, articles published in major broadsheet newspapers in Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia were identified using specified search terms. The final sample size consisted of 163 articles. Results. Majority of articles mentioned or discussed the benefits of biobanking, with medical research being the most prevalent benefit mentioned. Fewer articles discussed risks associated with biobanking. Researchers were the group of people most quoted in the articles, followed by biobank employees. Biobanking was portrayed as mostly neutral or positive, with few articles portraying biobanking in a negative manner. Conclusion. Reporting on biobanks in the print media heavily favours discussions of related benefits over risks. Members of the scientific research community appear to be a primary source of this positive tone. Under-reporting of risks and a downtrend in reporting on legal and regulatory issues suggests that the print media views such matters as less newsworthy than perceived benefits of biobanking.
生物库是一种重要的研究资源，为研究人员提供生物样本、工具和数据，但也涉及一系列伦理、法律和政策问题和关注点。尽管已有研究考察了不同利益相关者的观点，如捐赠者、研究人员和公众，但媒体对生物库的描述并未包含在这一研究领域中。因此，本研究考察了澳大利亚、加拿大、英国和美国的主要平面报纸如何报道生物库，以确定在平面媒体话语中最突出的生物库相关问题和关注点。
使用 Factiva，使用指定的搜索词在加拿大、美国、英国和澳大利亚的主要大报上确定已发表的文章。最终样本量由 163 篇文章组成。
大多数文章提到或讨论了生物库的益处，其中医学研究是最常提到的益处。较少的文章讨论了与生物库相关的风险。在文章中引用最多的是研究人员，其次是生物库员工。生物库的描述大多是中性或正面的，很少有文章将生物库描述为负面的。
平面媒体对生物库的报道严重偏向于讨论相关利益，而不是风险。科学研究界的成员似乎是这种积极论调的主要来源。对风险的报道不足以及对法律和监管问题的报道呈下降趋势表明，平面媒体认为这些问题不如生物库的预期益处有新闻价值。
