Contraception in the Spanish press: an analysis of the 1997-2002 period.

Objective: Based on the hypothesis that the media represent an important source of information about contraceptive methods and sexuality, this paper reviews the news items about contraception published by four important Spanish newspapers and four women's magazines.

Materials And Methods: All news items appearing from January 1, 1997 to December 31, 2002 in the following publications: El País, El Mundo, ABC, La Vanguardia, Mía, Clara, Ragazza, and Epoca were collected during the first 6 months of 2003. Results Seven hundred and ten news items about contraception were identified during the period analysed, of which 117 (16.5%) had a negative character.

Conclusions: Over 80% of news items appearing in the Spanish press in the 1997-2002 period give a positive information about contraceptive methods.