A critical content analysis of media reporting on opioids: The social construction of an epidemic

DiscussionThe social construction of the opioid epidemic polarizes individuals as good or bad with little attention paid to underlying institutional interests both in the creation of the problem or in the solutions that are proposed. We show that as concerns about harms from opioids become more pronounced, the narrative shifts to home in on illicit street-use with a corresponding uptake of stigmatizing references to “addicts”. Concurrently, most references to the pharmaceutical industry disappear from view. This framing of the problem defines the kinds of solutions that then seem natural. For example, increased criminalization is suggested for people who use drugs and stigmatizing those who suffer with chronic pain becomes a higher priority than implementing safer and more effective therapies for managing their pain.
Source: Social Science and Medicine - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research