Publications Archive - 2019
Recent Posts
Transplantation Direct: Public Solicitation and The Canadian Media: Two Cases of Living Liver Donation, Two Different Stories
Two stories of public solicitation for living liver donors received substantial Canadian media attention in 2015: The Wagner family, with twin toddlers, each needing transplants, and Eugene Melnyk, wealthy owner of a professional hockey team. This study compared the print media coverage of these 2 stories to understand how public solicitation was portrayed and whether coverage differed depending on the individual making the plea. A Marcon, T Caulfield, M Toews December 2019
BioMedCentral: Archives of Physiotherapy: The "subluxation" issue: an analysis of chiropractic clinic websites
Based on the controversy surrounding vertebral subluxation, the substantial number of clinic websites aligning their practice with vertebral subluxation should cause concern for regulatory bodies. Alessandro Marcon, Blake Murdoch, Timothy Caulfield November 2019
The Globe and Mail: Unproven stem-cell treatments can be dangerous. The hype needs to stop
Timothy Caulfield Special to the Globe and Mail Published July 10, 2019
Stem Cell Reports: How to Peddle Hope: An Analysis of YouTube Patient Testimonials of Unproven Stem Cell Treatments
Providers capitalize on patient testimonials to market unproven stem cell treatments (SCTs). We evaluated 159 YouTube videos and found patients discussed health improvements (91.2%), praised providers (53.5%), and recommended SCTs (28.9%). In over a third of the videos, providers posed questions to patients, thereby directing narratives and making them a powerful marketing tool. Bethany Hawke, Alexandra R Przybylo, Danielle Paciulli, Timothy Caulfield, Amy Zarzeczny, Zubin Master
Canadian Journal of Bioethics: Health Misinformation and the Power of Narrative Messaging in the Public Sphere
Numerous social, economic and academic pressures can have a negative impact on representations of biomedical research. We review several of the forces playing an increasingly pernicious role in how health and science information is interpreted, shared and used, drawing discussions towards the role of narrative. In turn, we explore how aspects of narrative are used in different social contexts and communication environments, and present creative responses that may help counter the negative trends. As traditional methods of communication have in many ways failed the public, changes in approach are required, including the creative use of narratives.
The American Journal of Gastroenterology: Promotion of Testing for Celiac Disease and the Gluten-Free Diet Among Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practitioners
Boyer, Graham; Caulfield, Timothy, BSc, LLB, LLM; Green, Peter H. R., MD; Lebwohl, Benjamin, MD, MS
PLOS: Media portrayal of illness-related medical crowdfunding: A content analysis of newspaper articles in the United States and Canada
Medical crowdfunding is a growing phenomenon, and newspapers are publishing on the topic. This research analyzed how illness-related crowdfunding and crowdfunding campaigns have recently been represented in newspapers that are popular in the United States and Canada. B Murdoch, A Marcon, D Downie, T Caulfield.
Genetics in Medicine: CRISPR in the North American popular press
Alessandro Marcon, Zubin Master, Vardit Ravitsky, and Timothy Caulfield.
Policy Options: When crowdfunding pays for bunk medical treatments
Crowdfunding platforms have a role to play in countering the misinformation spread by campaigns that raise money for unproven homeopathic treatments. Timothy Caulfield, Jeremy Snyder.
The Lancet Oncology: Patients' crowdfunding campaigns for alternative cancer treatments
Jeremy Snyder, Timothy Caulfield.
Cogent Medicine: Commenting on chiropractic: A YouTube analysis
Numerous studies have examined health-related YouTube videos, but very few studies have also investigated the health-related discussions taking place in YouTube comment sections.