How is communication of vaccines in traditional media: a systematic review 34 Perspectives in Public Health l January 2019 Vol 139 No 1 Copyright © Royal Society for Public Health 2018 SAGE Publications ISSN 1757-9139 DOI: 10.1177/1757913918780142 REVIEW ARTICLE INTRODUCTION The media has been considered an important tool for communicating information about vaccines and increasing awareness and motivating the public 1 to make important decisions about their health care. 2,3 Traditional media coverage and the rapid growth of the Internet and social media such as Twitter and Facebook have made it easier to find and disseminate immunization- related concerns and misperceptions. 4 These concerns have also been raised by the former WHO Director General Margaret Chan who expressed anxieties over what she called a ‘worrisome’ public mistrust of vaccines. 5 A clear example can be found in measles, which is one of the leading causes of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available. According to the WHO, 6 in 2015, there were 134,200 measles deaths globally – about 367 deaths every day, or 15 deaths every hour. There has been widespread uncertainty regarding the exact science – particularly when the media tries to provide a ‘balanced’ view, giving at least equal space and time to anti-vaccinationists even though, for example, more than 99% of informed medical and health-related professionals fully support the vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR). 7 When the media covers information on vaccines, journalists usually cover multiple sides of an issue and provide insight into where strong evidence lies by focusing on ‘evidentiary balance’. 8 The vaccine media debate has been raging for many years; immunizations have a long and complicated history of both saving lives and Abstract Aim: Taking into account that a key determinant in public approval of vaccinations is how the media constructs and frames messages about vaccination programmes, our aim is to review communication studies exploring media coverage of vaccines within traditional media venues. Methods: Using a registered protocol (PROSPERO: 42017072849), a systematic review was conducted that searched in three international electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and the International Bibliography of Social Science) for articles published between 2007 and 2017 following content-analysis methods. The characteristics and outcomes were systematically identified and described. The search yielded 24 eligible studies that were further analysed in the review. Results: Media coverage of vaccines has been largely studied during the last decade. Findings revealed that 62% (n = 15) of studies analysed the human papillomavirus vaccine, 87% (n = 21) examined newspapers, and 62% (n = 15) examined North American media. In relation to media content analyses, 75% found negative messages on vaccines and 83% identified a lack of accurate information. Conclusions: This systematic review suggests an agenda for further research. There is a significant need to analyse other types of traditional media beyond newspapers. Future studies should focus on other geographical areas such as low-income countries and on analysing visual materials and digital media. We found that negative messages and inaccurate information are common in media coverage on vaccines; therefore, further research focusing on these topics is needed. Officials in public health organizations should develop a close collaboration with the media to improve public communication on vaccines. How is communication of vaccines in traditional media: a systematic review Corresponding author: Daniel Catalan-Matamoros, as above Keywords vaccination; mass media; newspapers; public health; journalism 780142RSH How is communication of vaccines in traditional media: a systematic reviewHow is communication of vaccines in traditional media: a systematic review Authors Daniel Catalan-Matamoros Department of Journalism and Communication, University Carlos III of Madrid, Calle Madrid, 133, 28903 Getafe, Madrid, Spain Research Group of Health Sciences CTS-451, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain Email: dacatala@hum.uc3m. es Carmen Peñafiel-Saiz Department of Journalism, University of the Basque Country, Spain