The role of the media in public participation: Framing and leading?

This article focuses on the framing of women's health services in the context of restructuring dictated by health system regionalization. By examining the archives of a local newspaper and the minutes and documents of one of the key organizations involved in re-structuring after regionalization, it was possible to examine the public discourse of the time and subsequently the journalists' and the readerships' understandings of women's health. The evidence suggests that the Salvation Army was instrumental in setting the tone that was taken by the media in training the issues around the closure and move of its Grace Women's Health Centre. While the Calgary Health Region was successful in bringing the Grace under its mandate and organizational control, it was the Salvation Army, with its highly visible and powerful fundraising arm and its advocacy for holistic women's health, that caught the public's attention. The internal discourse tracked some of the emerging issues, known only to those involved at managerial levels within the health system, but the public discourse kept women centered in decisions regarding the partnership. Women from many constituencies must continue to participate in the public policy realm to ensure that women's health remains an issue in health reform.