The problem with economic burden framing in health

Written By Kate May

There are many ways you can frame health and illness in the media. The framing we use sends an important message to both people who make change, and those who may live with illness.

I recently put my own story of illness on the line to support a great health campaign and resources for women living with migraine. My intent was to show an everyday relatable story of navigating chronic illness and show the positive role access, diagnosis and systemic support can have.

I wanted to tap into ideas of fairness, equality in access to care, empowerment, and people having agency over their lives. I didn’t want to tell a story of pity or burden, like the worst experiences of suffering, or the costs of migraine.

That choice was strategic. At Common Cause, we know that messages leaning into intrinsic values like benevolence, self-direction, and universalism are key to shifting public attitudes, informing better policy, and reducing stigma.

Sharing my story was a rewarding experience, and I felt confident the campaign and media coverage sent a good message for those living with chronic illness, and those who play a role in supporting it in our communities.

But just a week later, I opened my news app and saw a completely different approach to framing chronic illness. The article leaned heavily on an economic burden frame.

In this story, the illness (breast cancer, migraine and others) and those living with illness, are ultimately framed as the problem costing the economy. While I have no doubt there was some interesting data and good intent, the message it sent was this: Without this illness problem, we’d have more people working more hours, and our economy would be far less burdened carrying along these darn sick people.

This kind of framing is common in health communications, and it comes with real consequences.

Not only is the economic burden frame far less effective in building support for systemic policy solutions, but it also feeds harmful assumptions about people living with chronic illness.

In this case, the lived experience of a woman navigating metastatic breast cancer and adapting to stay engaged with work was overshadowed by data ranking diagnoses by their impact on productivity. People with chronic illness were framed as a burden to employers simply as “absenteeism and reduced productive at work.” It’s detached and cold, and an unfair representation of living with illness.

As the lived experience story in the article shows, navigating work is often different when you face a significant diagnosis, but it is your own story. It means finding a new path forward. That might mean working from home, freelancing, changing hours, finding a more appropriate job, or taking time away from work and returning later if it's right for you. This (more accurate story) relies on flexible, inclusive employers and public leaders who see beyond the number of hours someone can sit at a desk when they’re unwell.

When we frame illness as a burden, we fuel stigma and shame and isolate the very people who need support the most.

In my early years of diagnosis, I felt the illness burden narrative heavily. I tried to manage my symptoms quietly, was reluctant to ask for help, and nearly gave up on my career before it had even begun. I just didn’t want to be a burden to others.

But I’d got it all wrong. Because with the right support from healthcare, workplaces, and our communities, many of us who face significant illness can adapt, contribute, thrive and lead. The real barrier is not illness itself, but the systems and attitudes that fail to support people living with illness.

More than half of Australians live with a chronic condition. Illness is a normal part of being human. It will always be part of the fabric of our workplaces, communities, and society. There is grief, there is suffering, there is financial and personal cost. But there is agency, community and loads and loads of actions we all can take to help make this story stronger.

In practice, this means:

  • Healthcare systems that support early diagnosis, evidence-based treatment, and pain-informed care

  • Governments that fund public health, research, and service access equitably

  • Workplaces that are agile, adaptive, and designed to support people through life’s challenges

  • Communities that respond with kindness and care

  • Individuals who forge their own path forward and live in line with their values while navigating illness

And that’s the story we need to tell.

What can we do as communicators?

Here are some practical framing tips when communicating about illness to escape the economic burden frame:

  • Lean into intrinsic values: Focus on fairness, shared responsibility, human dignity, and empowerment, not pity or cost.

  • Externalise the problem: Don’t make the illness or individual the issue. Highlight systemic barriers like delayed diagnosis, inaccessible services, stigma, or rigid work structures.

  • Keep it strengths-based: Focus on the actions, adaptations, and supports that help people live well with illness. Share examples of what works.

  • Use data wisely: Facts alone don’t persuade, values do. When using statistics, explain why they matter and what they mean for real people.

  • Create something good: Don’t stop at the problem. Show what better solutions look like. What happens when workplaces are flexible? When healthcare is accessible? What are the lessons learned through lived experience?

Kate May

Kate May is an Associate at Common Cause. With a background in health promotion, Kate is passionate about using values-based messaging to address stigma and confront harmful product marketing.

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