“Treated like trash” versus “Heart in the right place”

Abstract

Public perceptions of healthcare professionals shape trust in healthcare systems, professional identity, and workforce sustainability. In Finland, these perceptions are especially significant given ongoing staff shortages and debates about healthcare quality and organization. This thesis explores how healthcare professionals are portrayed in online public discourse, using Vygotsky’s Social Constructivist Theory (SCT) to understand how social interaction, language, and cultural context shape shared meanings. The study uses an inductive qualitative content analysis of 275 comments from Suomi24, Finland’s largest online discussion forum. The analysis identifies recurring themes, tones, and patterns in discussions about healthcare professionals, including physicians, nurses, healthcare management, and mental health services. The findings reveal that negative perceptions dominate the debate. Common themes include dissatisfaction with perceived unprofessionalism, lack of empathy and poor communication. Nurses are frequently discussed in relation to workload, staffing shortages, and working conditions, while physicians are more often associated with concerns regarding diagnostic practices, ethical conduct, and responsibility. Positive comments are present but notably fewer and appear to have limited influence within the overall discussion. The results suggest that public perceptions of healthcare professionals are shaped not only by individual experiences but also by repeated exposure to negative narratives within a shared cultural context. These perceptions may contribute to declining professional esteem and exacerbate workforce challenges, highlighting the need for both structural reforms and efforts to improve public understanding of healthcare work.