ABSTRACT
This is a quanti-qualitative study, aiming to analyze, based on the theoretical reference of the Institutional Analysis, the published articles on Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in the printed media of Espírito Santo, Brazil. From the search of two newspapers with the largest circulation in the state, namely, ‘A Gazeta’ and ‘A Tribuna’, 129 articles related to the subject were identified between 2014 and 2016. It was observed, among other aspects, predominance of subjects in odd pages (51.2%), use of photographs (48.1%), informational gender (78.3%), omission of the Unified Health System (SUS) (92,2%) and approach on secondary prevention of the disease (60.5%). Great emphasis was noticed for matters related to the new technologies in health, advertising tones and lifestyle configured as healthy. Thus, the study points out that the printed media has an important role in the dissemination of information about DM, however, the relationship between health and communication in the state of Espírito Santo deserves to be reviewed in relation to this disease, since it is observed in the media an emphasis on new technologies, often, at the service of business interests, and a gap with regards to the valorization of the SUS.
KEYWORDS
Diabetes Mellitus; Communications media; Health communication; Unified Health System