WOMEN’S HEALTH MONTH: THE ROLE OF MEDIA AND REPRESENTATION IN HEALTHCARE

by Stacie de Armas, Senior Vice President of Diverse Intelligence & Initiatives at Nielsen

 As we observe Women’s Health Month in May, it is crucial to recognize the various factors influencing healthcare equity. An often overlooked driver… is media – the TV shows, movies, and social media content we consume. Media can profoundly shape our perceptions about people, influencing access to healthcare and the presence of biases and disparities.

The healthcare experiences of Black, Asian, and Latina women, for example, are profoundly shaped by the biases perpetuated through media. A study in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine found that healthcare providers’ implicit biases, which can be influenced by media stereotypes, affect the quality of care received by Black, Asian, and Latina women. The lack of understanding and bias against Black women, for example, can lead to underestimating their pain levels, affecting their treatment. Similarly, the media often portrays Latinas in emotional or melodramatic roles, potentially influencing healthcare professionals’ perceptions and causing them to downplay their symptoms. Asian women also face their own unique set of challenges. They are often depicted as healthy or fit leading to misconceptions that they do not face significant health problems, resulting in their healthcare concerns being overlooked or dismissed. In fact, this study’s findings suggest that Asian women are more likely to be diagnosed with later-stage breast cancer compared to white women, indicating potential barriers, including biases by healthcare providers, to early detection and timely diagnosis.

Healthcare biases are not limited to women of racial or ethnic groups alone; they extend to women within the LGBTQ+ community too. In general, media representation plays a crucial role in shaping public attitudes and perceptions toward diverse communities, including lesbian women. This study titled “Inequalities in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health …” underscores that Lesbian women’s healthcare outcomes are negatively affected by various forms of bias and discrimination within the healthcare system including provider bias, which manifests as a lack of understanding, misconceptions, or prejudice against lesbian patients. We also know that provider bias could contribute to a lack of appropriate preventive health screenings leading to late-stage diagnoses of treatable conditions, negatively affecting lesbian women’s health outcomes.

Media representation can shape societal perceptions of women, affecting their self-perception and health management strategies. Nielsen’s “Being Seen on Screen: Diverse Representation & Inclusion on TV” report highlights that roles in programming influence perceptions of various groups. This directly impacts how healthcare professionals may view and treat patients from these communities.

Positive representation of diverse identity groups in media can promote more equitable healthcare outcomes by combating stereotypes and reducing stigmatization and discrimination. Negative portrayals, conversely, can harm healthcare access and utilization rates. Studies indicate that negative portrayals can increase stigma and decrease help-seeking behavior.

During a time when women’s health issues are under the spotlight, understanding the interconnection between media and healthcare is crucial. Striving for more positive and inclusive representation in media is a step toward promoting health equity. Media has the power to drive social change, improve public perception, and help address health disparities.

About Stacie de Armas

Stacie de Armas is a leading-edge media and entertainment data measurement executive who brings a unique and powerful perspective to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the industry. As Senior Vice President of Diverse Intelligence & Initiatives at Nielsen, Stacie is transforming how media, advertising, and entertainment companies think about DEI, shifting the focus from corporate culture and HR to driving inclusive values in product development, insights, and innovation.