Association between Volume and Outcome for Adult General Critical Care Units in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

‘‘mixed’’. In 2000, despite growing public concerns and widespread media coverage, fewer than 20 comment pieces were published. From 2001–2003 the tone of many articles was negative, mixed or neutral, thus conveying ambiguous or negative messages about MMR safety to health professionals, though from 2004 the tone changed and most comment pieces were broadly positive. Overall less than a quarter of comment pieces (n = 196, 22.7%) included reference to current recommendations or other guidance on MMR. This was particularly notable in the period from 1998–2001, following publication of the Wakefield paper in 1998. Conclusion: During the MMR controversy journals and magazines aimed at health professionals may have added to uncertainty among practitioners by failing to reinforce current practice with evidence-based recommendations about MMR safety. The findings raise questions about how far journals and magazines should go in supporting current public health policy, and how far they should leave readers to make up their own minds.