Defining diabetes and assigning responsibility: how print media frame diabetes in New Zealand

Research has analyzed media framing of cause and solution responsibility attribution in diabetes discourse. Studies have not similarly engaged with how media frame diabetes ‘effects’, an integral framing component because it comprises the ‘problem definition’ of diabetes. Moreover, the combination of causal attribution and effects provides a ‘moral evaluation’ on who carries the burden of the disease. This paper asks ‘how does the New Zealand print media frame diabetes definition and responsibility attribution?’ We identify key frames used to discursively construct Gestational, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes discourse. Content and thematic analysis reveal that media predominantly discuss diabetes without type-specification and with a high reference to obesity and behavioral choices as causal factors. Diabetes is defined as an individual’s medical concern, which when mismanaged results in amputation, blindness, kidney disease and coronary disease. We consider the implications of media coverage on public response to diabetes as a societal concern.