Department of Nursing, Fudan University Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
School of Nursing, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
J Nurs Scholarsh. 2024 Jan;56(1):164-173. doi: 10.1111/jnu.12928. Epub 2023 Aug 22.
Newspapers are a predominant channel through which the Chinese public learns about nurses and the nursing profession. However, little nursing research has been performed in China to investigate the newspaper portrayal of nurses, and how the public perceives the role of nurses in the Chinese context is still an ambiguous phenomenon. This study aimed to clarify the public portrayals of nurses in China, and to analyze whether there are changes over time in news content related to nurses in the national newspapers.
A content analysis of the newspaper articles citing nurses that have been published since each newspaper was established.
We selected two national daily newspapers as sources to systematically search for articles about nurses from 1949 to 2022. A coding instrument was developed to quantitatively extract the contents of the articles identified. Then, using a mixed methods approach, we analyzed newspaper content to show the roles of nurses presented to the public by the media.
A total of 317 articles were analyzed. Nurses have been depicted with heterogeneous images in both newspapers with positive wordings and up to 28 types of public images. More than half of the articles portrayed two, three, or more types of images. Among the images of nurses identified, "overworked" appeared the most frequently, followed by "dedicated," "philanthropic and benevolent," and "with a sense of responsibility," and then "technically skilled." By analyzing the image of nurses in both newspapers over time, we found that images related to virtue have largely increased with time, while images about professionalism have decreased.
Nursing continues to be depicted as a virtuous caregiving profession, often forgetting the wide need for knowledge, skill, and expertise required in the occupation. The public image of nurses portrayed in the national newspapers does not accurately match their actual roles.
The public image of nurses portrayed in the national newspapers does not accurately match their actual roles. To actualize a professional role and increase social status of nurses, intentional image management is needed. Nursing schools, nursing associations, and nursing professionals should be more proactive in overcoming the stereotypical image portrayed of them and use the news media as a tool to invite attention from and dialogue with the public about the value of nursing to reframe the public's understanding of the expert role of the professional nurse in health care and to create a new and more professional image for nursing.
报纸是中国公众了解护士和护理行业的主要渠道。然而，中国几乎没有护理研究来调查报纸对护士的描述，公众如何看待护士在中国的角色仍然是一个模糊的现象。本研究旨在阐明中国公众对护士的形象描述，并分析国家报纸上与护士相关的新闻内容是否随时间发生变化。
对自报纸创刊以来引用护士的报纸文章进行内容分析。
我们选择了两份全国性日报作为来源，从 1949 年到 2022 年系统地搜索有关护士的文章。制定了一个编码工具，以定量提取所确定文章的内容。然后，我们使用混合方法分析报纸内容，以展示媒体向公众呈现的护士角色。
共分析了 317 篇文章。两家报纸对护士的描述都各不相同，既有正面的措辞，也有多达 28 种公众形象。超过一半的文章描述了两种、三种或更多种形象。在所确定的护士形象中，“工作过度”出现的频率最高，其次是“敬业”、“慈善仁爱”和“有责任感”，然后是“技术熟练”。通过分析两份报纸随时间推移对护士形象的描述，我们发现，与美德相关的形象随着时间的推移大大增加，而与专业精神相关的形象则减少。
护理继续被描绘成一种具有美德的护理职业，往往忘记了该职业所需的广泛的知识、技能和专业知识。国家报纸上描绘的护士公众形象与他们的实际角色并不完全匹配。
国家报纸上描绘的护士公众形象与他们的实际角色并不完全匹配。为了实现护士的专业角色和提高其社会地位，需要进行有目的的形象管理。护理学校、护理协会和护理专业人员应该更加积极主动地克服对他们的刻板印象，并利用新闻媒体作为工具，邀请公众关注护理的价值，并与公众进行对话，以重新构建公众对专业护士在医疗保健中的专家角色的理解，并为护理创造一个新的、更专业的形象。
