Initiative addresses nurses’ underrepresentation in health media

Editor’s Note

Despite being the largest healthcare workforce, nurses are cited in just 4% of health news stories, a statistic unchanged since 1997, according to researchers writing in the January issue of the Journal of Nursing Administration. However, a new initiative aims to change the equation. Titled Nurses’ Voices in Media: Strategies for Chief Nursing Officers, the open-access article delves into efforts by chief nursing offers to better shape public health narratives by promoting nurse expertise and countering misinformation.

The initiative, led by The George Washington University School of Nursing's Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement in partnership with the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, sought to study the issue and find solutions. To that end, 14 CNOs participated in two workshops as well as followup sessions. According to the article, participants recognized organizational culture, outdated public relations practices (PR), and time constraints as major barriers to nurses being offered as media sources. Instead, the default tends to be physicians, whose feedback further limits nurse visibility in some cases. In fact, only 44% of surveyed participants reported that their organizations included nursing in external communication plans, and fewer than 30% had source lists of nurses to offer to journalists.

Among other strategies, the program encouraged CNOs to proactively advocate for nurses in media by collaborating with PR teams, creating “media-ready” lists of nurse experts, and incorporating media engagement into their strategic plans. Participants highlighted the value of media training and coaching for nurses, as well as engaging nurse leaders across the organization to support these efforts. Best practices included involving nurses in communication planning, tailoring media pitches to journalists’ needs, and framing nurses as clinical experts on relevant health topics.

Outcomes of the initiative included anecdotal increases in nurses’ media presence and improved collaboration between CNOs and PR departments. Some participants reported that their organizations now intentionally promote nurses as subject matter experts, while others noted ongoing cultural resistance to this shift.