ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to help journalists and journalism students understand more fully why their coverage of health research matters and how to ensure that their reporting on health research is accurate, contextually situated, and complete enough to help their audiences make better health decisions. In an ideal world, individuals would receive high-quality health education during their elementary and secondary schooling and would obtain all the other health information they need through regular, detailed, and comprehensive conversations with trusted health professionals. To be considered truly ethical in their work, journalists are required to produce accurate and complete stories that minimize the likelihood of harm, either to those about whom they are writing or to their audiences. Most health journalists today are deluged with news releases and other communications from scientists, universities, journals, and commercial organizations seeking to use news stories to promote their latest research and their products to the public.
