Special Issue: ‘Methods, Measures and Theory in Health Journalism’
The Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies invites original research articles for a Special Issue on health journalism. We seek contributions that improve methodological rigor, measurement clarity and theoretical innovation, while maintaining the journal’s mission to connect media research with real-world journalistic practice.
Background
In recent years, health journalism has risen to the centre of global public discourse. From the pandemic to the persistent challenges of chronic illnesses, misinformation and climate-related health crises, the role of journalists in mediating science and public understanding has never been more critical. Researchers have examined health news coverage across multiple contexts (such as politics, law, technology, society, media) demonstrating that journalistic practice not only informs but also shapes risk perceptions, trust in institutions and ultimately, health behaviors. Yet, despite the growth in this area, significant methodological and theoretical challenges remain.
To address this gap, this Special Issue adopts a three-pronged approach.
- First, methodological fragmentation continues to block the cumulative development of knowledge. While some studies rely on traditional content analysis to capture media frames, others employ qualitative ethnographies of health journalists or quantitative audience experiments. More recently, computational approaches such as topic modeling, sentiment analysis and natural language processing have expanded the field’s capacity to analyse large corpora of health news texts. However, the integration of these approaches is uneven, and cross-national comparative research, which is critical for understanding global disparities in health communication, remains limited.
- Second, the measurement of journalistic quality, accuracy and impact remains underdeveloped. Existing coding schemes often privilege Western notions of objectivity, failing to capture contextual variations in how health is reported in the Global South. The development of robust and validated measures, whether for coding misinformation, assessing narrative structures or assessing audience trust in health journalism, is urgently needed. Without stronger measurement, it is difficult to evaluate the role of journalism in improving health literacy or countering disinformation.
- Third, there are unresolved theoretical questions about how health journalism exerts influence in diverse societies. Traditional theories such as agenda-setting and framing remain widely applied, yet their explanatory power is limited in communities where media ecosystems are fragmented and algorithmically mediated. Emerging frameworks such as narrative persuasion, exemplification, moral foundations theory and media systems dependency offer new opportunities, but these have rarely been systematically tested in health journalism contexts. A stronger theoretical foundation is essential for bridging the gap between journalistic practice and public health outcomes.
This Special Issue responds to these gaps by focusing on methods, measures and theory in health journalism. By bringing together interdisciplinary contributions, from computational communication science and psychology to sociology, media studies and public health, it seeks to establish a more overarching research agenda. We welcome submissions that not only apply novel methodological tools but also critically reflect on their implications for journalistic practice and audience responses.
In doing so, the Special Issue positions Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies at the forefront of global debates on health journalism. At a time when the legitimacy of journalism is under strain and public health communication faces unprecedented challenges, the journal is uniquely placed to advance debate that bridges academic research and the lived realities of journalists and audiences worldwide.
To sum, this Special Issue welcomes submissions from both academics and media practitioners on topics related (but not limited) to:
- Research Methods: Articles using mixed-methods, computational text analysis (e.g. topic modeling, sentiment analysis), ethnographic newsroom studies, audience surveys or experiments, usability testing of health reporting tools and cross-national comparative designs.
- Measurement & Validation: Development or critique of coding frameworks for journalistic accuracy, trust-in-media scales, health literacy assessment instruments, narrative/emotional framing indices or misinformation quantification metrics.
- Theoretical Contributions: Application or refinement of agenda-setting, framing, health belief model, risk communication theory, moral foundations, media systems dependency or narrative persuasion theories in the context of health journalism.
- Methodological Innovations: Use of machine learning/NLP for analysing large health news corpora, psychophysiological approaches (e.g. eye-tracking) to audience engagement, social network analyses of information dissemination or action research involving journalists.
Timeline
- Abstract submission deadline (300–500 words): 15 December 2025
- Notification of acceptance: 15 January 2026
- Full manuscript submission: 15 June 2026
- First revision due: 15 September 2026
- Second revision due: 15 December 2026
- Final decision: 15 February 2027
- Approximate release: Spring/Summer 2027
Guidelines
Please submit the abstract along with the link to authors’ ORCID to the editors of the Special Issue at s.hussain@sharjah.ac.ae and flatif@gwu.edu. Please write in subject line: ‘Health Journalism Special Issue: Your Study title’. Acceptance of the abstracts does not guarantee publication of the articles. Full articles will be subject to double-blind peer review. Please consult the journal’s website for submission format, word counts, referencing style and layout: https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-applied-journalism-media-studies
Special Issue Editors
Dr Syed Ali Hussain is a health and intercultural communication researcher currently serving as assistant professor at the College of Communication in University of Sharjah, UAE. Email: s.hussain@sharjah.ac.ae.
Dr Farah Latif is a communication and reputation management consultant and serves as a professional lecturer in the Department of Organizational Sciences and Communication at the George Washington University, USA. Email: flatif@gwu.edu.