Nursing Voices during COVID-19: An Analysis of Canadian Media Coverage

Abstract

While it is generally recognized that nurses and nursing issues are underrepresented in the media, the contrary is also true during major public health care crises like Ebola and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). We see this phenomenon unfolding in the midst of the current COVID-19 pandemic with nurses and nursing issues receiving extensive media coverage in Canada and internationally. To gain more insights into this media coverage, we analyzed the content of Canadian news stories published in both English and French during the first five months of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents the findings of our analysis and identifies important lessons learned. We believe that our findings serve as an important starting point for understanding nurses’ agency and the media savviness they displayed during the first months of the pandemic.