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Communicating Universal Healthcare to a Partisan Audience: A Frame Analysis of the Commonwealth Fund’s Strategic Online Communication

Heath-Bourne, Maggie

Abstract Details

2020, MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Communication.
Healthcare in the United States is a highly contested discursive area. Although health may be spoken of using neutral language, healthcare system reforms and policies are highly partisan. The universal healthcare movement is no exception. Arguments in favor of the implementation of a universal healthcare system typically uphold better health outcomes for everyone and equitable access to care. A frame analysis was used to study this social movement and discursive tension by using the Commonwealth Fund as a proxy organization. At a content level, this study found that health was indeed discussed in a neutral and nonpartisan way, but in looking at frame intentions there are structures built specifically for people likely to be pro-Democratic healthcare reform. This is helpful in understanding health communication and social movements framing because partisan political interests very often use nonpartisan language to describe reforms, and therefore partisan politics can manifest in healthcare discourses at a deeper level than the surface content. This thesis underscores the importance of looking beyond language itself to examine the partisan politics of health discourse. Additionally, it has practical implications for message readers who wish to employ more sophisticated methods of understanding the movement, and for social movement organizers who may reflect on the partisan implications of constructing healthcare reform messages.
Zhuo Ban, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Nancy Jennings, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Shaunak Sastry, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
75 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Heath-Bourne, M. (2020). Communicating Universal Healthcare to a Partisan Audience: A Frame Analysis of the Commonwealth Fund’s Strategic Online Communication [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1584015858701365

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Heath-Bourne, Maggie. Communicating Universal Healthcare to a Partisan Audience: A Frame Analysis of the Commonwealth Fund’s Strategic Online Communication. 2020. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1584015858701365.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Heath-Bourne, Maggie. "Communicating Universal Healthcare to a Partisan Audience: A Frame Analysis of the Commonwealth Fund’s Strategic Online Communication." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1584015858701365

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)