26th Annual Student Research Conference
Trends in Hyponatremia and Dehydration Debate in Recent Sports and Outdoor Media
Shelby L. Hewerdine
Dr. James A. Padfield, Faculty Mentor
Sparked by a noticeable upswing in warnings against hyponatremia in mainstream publications, this study examines trends in the discussion of hyponatremia and dehydration in recent popular magazine media. The goal was to discover if there have been any significant patterns in the coverage of hydration and hyponatremia. The sample of this study was 29 articles identified from American magazines specializing in sports and outdoor activities published from 2000 to 2012. Each articles primary theme was categorized as mainly concerning hyponatremia, mainly concerning dehydration, or both; these articles were then used as the unit of analysis. Two researchers independently coded articles to obtain a more impartial result. Trends around time of publication and publication type were examined, and analysis revealed an increase in hyponatremia interest between 2003 and 2004, which then returned to previous levels of discussion.
Keywords: hyponatremia, dehydration, content analysis
Topic(s):Exercise Science
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 5-4
Location: GEO
Time: 3:30