Comparative Analysis of the Portrayal of Nurses and Nursing in the Media: Saudi Arabia and Beyond

Abstract

This study presents the findings of research exploring how nurses and nursing are portrayed in the media and makes a comparative analysis of these portrayals across a range of different countries and cultures, including Saudi Arabia. The objectives of the study are to explore and compare how nurses and nursing are portrayed in the media in different countries around the world; to identify the differences and similarities in these representations; and to interpret the likely impact of portrayals of global media in each location. The findings are detailed in further sections of this report, along with the implications for nurse-interested stakeholders in their respective countries. Changing attitudes about nursing in the twenty-first century and beyond are an important focus of the project. The study also considers some of the challenges nurses face when aiming to influence their portrayal in the media.
The media plays a powerful role in shaping the thoughts, behaviors, and emotions of people. Moreover, people have long been fascinated by mass communication. In health and nursing, the media plays a prominent role in setting broader societal attitudes. How the media portray the nursing profession also influences aspiring and prospective nurses. The meaning that cultural artifacts go through and the cultural representation that hegemonic roles play in society relying on them—in this case, the portrayal of the nursing phenomenon in media across multiple cultural contexts and semiology—is one of the factors that contribute to this controversy.