Mental Health as a Human Rights Issue: Media, Policy, and Public Perception

Abstract

Media discourses are determinant in the ways societies conceptualize chronic illness, the social placement of patients and reproduction or confrontation of stigma. Chronic diseases like cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and mental health issues are increasingly being given a presence in the news media, entertainment genres, advertising, and digital platforms in the contemporary media environment. Nevertheless, the higher the visibility, the more it does not necessarily guarantee ethical representation and inclusion in the society. The paper is a critical analysis of the role of media narratives in creating meaning of chronic illness and its role in creating stigma, moral judgment, and symbolic exclusion. The study takes a qualitative-dominant mixed-method approach based on systematic literature review, secondary analysis of media studies, critiquing discourse analysis of the chosen texts in the media. It is shown that the prevailing media discourses on illness individualization, suffering dramatization, biomedical authority and the marginalization of lived experience strengthen the social stigma. This paper states that the narrative of illness that builds on ethics and focuses on people is needed to alleviate stigma, promote equity in health, and rebuild the dignity of those with chronic conditions.