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Embedded health messages on TV shows

I’m watching a recap of last night’s Desperate Housewives and in one scene towards the end, Gabby tells her therapist that her reason for wanting to protect children is because she was molested by her stepfather. This story-line reminded me of two things. One, just today the principal investigator on one of my projects said she became interested in how to use the media in public health campaigns with wanting to be part of a team that places health messages in TV shows. The second, is that there is a group of people working on doing just that. The scene definitely reminded me of the work of The Normal Lear Center at the University of Southern California my (my alma mater) and specifically Hollywood Health & Society.

HHS often works with CDC experts to give accurate health information to television producers and others in the media and entertainment industry for use within their plots lines. In a conversation last year with HHS director Sandra de Castro Buffington, she stressed that HHS does not tell writers what to say, rather, they encourage them to include as accurate as possible any information on the topics. After all, many studies have shown that American consumers gather a lot of their health information from scripted shows. Past CDC and HHS studies have involved working with daytime soap operas on HIV and prime time television shows to highlight childhood obesity.

And, last year for my master’s thesis, I analyzed a TLC show called “One Big Happy Family” which profiled an African American family with obesity and their attempts at making a change. Now, not many African Americans saw the program to begin with, despite TLC’s claim that it attracts large audiences from that genre. Despite the low outreach, those who saw the program showed efficacy in wanting to change their behavior.

Like with many topics, I usually ask, what does this mean for the Caribbean. As we get more integrated economically, we should also consider the impact of such integration on public health (another post entirely). But, an organization, working regionally, who makes part of its mission to deliver credible and accurate information and data to writers, producers and others in the media and entertainment industry is sorely needed. With the growing influence of Caribbean theatre and rising movie industry in Jamaica and Trinidad, as well as local shows in many islands, it would be wise to make sure that the public gets the most exact and non-judgmental information. Whether it is on dengue fever or HIV/AIDS, child abuse or teen pregnancy, if we are to tackle any public health issue with credibility within the arts and entertainment industry across the region, we need to provide people with all that is needed. This, after all, is entertainment education.

 

 

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Tuesday Deadline Caribbean HIV Conference Abstracts

Abstracts for the 2011 Caribbean HIV Conference are coming dues Tuesday, February 15th. This years’ theme is Strengthening Evidence to Achieve Sustainable Action. The conference takes place from November 11-21 in The Bahamas.

According to the website, the conference is expected to attract 2,000–2,500 participants and will highlight scientific research findings, implementation lessons learned, skills-building tools, and networking opportunities.

There are five conference tracks within which participants can locate their research: Special Populations, Legal, Ethical, Cultural, Spiritual, and Leadership Issues, Epidemiology, Basic Science and Vaccine Research,  Treatment, Care, and Support, Prevention: Social, Behavioral, and Biomedical Change.

Full information on the conference and each track can be found on their website https://www.2011caribbeanhivconference.org

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HIV testing in schools

Two news articles caught my attention today and both address HIV testing in high schools. First, at one high school in San Francisco, the senior class is getting tested for HIV for their class project. The idea for the testing project, which is voluntary, came from one classmate who volunteers with an AIDS doctor. The students hope to inform and educate teens on the importance of getting tested.

Halfway across the globe, South Africa is implementing a testing program across its school systems in hopes of getting all South Africans to know their status and to receive treatment if positive.

Although there are concerns about privacy and professionalism in both cases, young people ages 13 to 19 constitute a significant percentage of those testing positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. And, although the young students in San Francisco may mot be the target group for most HIV prevention efforts, their project could serve as a pilot program for other students in high-risk groups or geographical areas. Similarly, the South Africa program could influence other countries to start testing earlier.

There is a lot of literature on screening programs in public health and associated harms caused by false positives and associated issues. So, the efficacy of population-level screening has to be a concern. However, for countries or regions with generalized epidemics or in areas with concentrated epidemics, screening those most at risk, and starting screening early ‘might’ help mitigate the spread. I hope SA is planning on studying this issue. I would like to dee a published data. And maybe, Caribbean countries where young people ages 13 to 19 are at higher risk of acquiring HIV will consider implementing a similar policy.

To read more about the students in San Francisco, the article is available at WSJ Online. Visit AllAfrica.com to read about South Africa’s policy.

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Where is the Caribbean…in the press?

The more news I read, the more I’m convinced that the Caribbean is badly missing from major presses. Recently, the BBC decided to close its Caribbean bureau. This is sad news not only to those across the Caribbean region but to people of caribbean decent living in the United Kingdom, the United States and indeed across the world. I enjoyed listening to BBC Caribbean Magazine or BBC Caribbean Report on radio stations from the Virgin Islands or Dominica. It is a shame that such esteemed reporting will no longer be with us.

 

Image courtesy Hard Beat Communications.

As someone with deep interest in what goes on in the region, as well as with particular interest in public heath and health policy and communication, I often wonder where will I get credible news. Many newspapers across the region seem content to post news releases from government officials or to grab news off the presses rather than to do their own investigative journalism. Additionally, if a newspaper ventures into investigative reporting, the focus is much more on the negative consequences for those involved than on how best to learn from what we read and/or see.

I find it quite disconcerting that I am unable to find more credible health reporting across the region. And that something like the dengue outbreak, cholera or World AIDS Day seems to be the only time worth saying anything. Newspapers needs to stop making governments and policy makers drive the agenda for their stories. This is a disservice to the public. I remembered vividly my time at London School of Economics and our discussions on the importance of the media in the public sphere. We often discussed the role of the media, particularly newspapers and radio, in informing and educating the public. I’ve been a part of situations where radio reporters simply grab whatever is reported on in the newspapers for the day or replay word for word a press conference and call it news. More definitely needs to be done to have an educated public and to drive public discourse.

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National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day across the United States. NAID took a moment–and we all should–to highlight the great disparity that exists between African Americans and other races/ethnicities in HIV and AIDS incidences. African American women are disproportionately burdened by the disease. And, the American South, where many Blacks live, the HIV epidemic is taking a toll on many young people.

This year’s theme is “It’s takes a village to fight HIV/AIDS”. Caribbean Americans know that it takes a village to overcome many challenges. I hoped every Black person in the United States t0ok some time today to consider the impact of HIV in their life and the lives of those they love. Although there is a separate HIV/AIDS awareness day specifically for those from the Caribbean region (June 8th), we are counted among the many Black Americans afflicted.

In fact, a recent epidemiological study showed that there is also disparity between foreign born and native born Blacks. Johnson et al. (2010) came to the conclusion that the epidemiology of HIV infection differs for the two groups; and that almost 12% of of Blacks diagnosed with HIV infection between 2001 and 2007 were foreign-born:

“Of these, 11.7% were foreign-born, with most from the Caribbean (54.1%) and Africa (41.5%). Annual HIV diagnoses decreased by 5.5% per year (95% confidence interval [CI] –5.9, –5.0) among native-born black people. Decreases were small among foreign-born black people (–1.3%; 95% CI –2.6, –0.1), who were more likely to be female, have HIV infection attributable to high-risk heterosexual contact, be diagnosed with AIDS within 12 months of HIV diagnosis, and survive one year and three years after an AIDS diagnosis.“

Whether its Blacks AIDS Awareness Day or Caribbean AIDS Awareness Day, we all need to participate and do our part in turn this epidemic around.

If you’re in the U.S, here is some information on where to go for information?

  • Do you know your status? If not, text your zipcode to 566948 (“KNOWIT”) to find and HIV testing site near you or go to HIVtest.org.
  • You can also call 1-800-CDC-INFORMATION for more information and testing sites in your area.
  • Visit www.aids.gov for Federal resources, events in your area and tools to commemorate National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.