Using data from 13 surveys of the public, this article compares the public's response to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Ontario (specifically, Toronto), the other Canadian provinces, and ...the United States, which had substantial differences in the number of SARS cases. Findings suggest that, even at a relatively low level of spread among the population, the SARS outbreak had a significant psychological and economic impact. They also suggest that the success of efforts to educate the public about the risk of SARS and appropriate precautions was mixed. Some of the community-wide problems with SARS might have been avoided with better communication by public health officials and clinicians.
The influence of news media on audience cognitions, attitudes, and behaviors in the realm of politics, race relations, science, and health has been extensively documented.Agenda setting and framing ...studies show that news media influence how people develop schema and place priorities on issues, with media stories serving as a major source of issue frames. Although news media are an important intermediary in the translation of scientific knowledge to different publics, little has been documented about the production of health news and factors that may predict media agenda setting and framing in health journalism. We used data from a 2005 national survey of U.S. health reporters and editors to examine predictors of source, resource, story angle, and frame usage among reporters and editors by variables such as organizational structure, individual characteristics of respondents (such as education and years working as a journalist),and perceptions of occupational autonomy. Multivariable logistic regression models revealed several differences among U.S. health reports and editors in the likelihood of using a variety of news sources, resources, priorities, and angles in reporting. Media agenda setting and framing theories suggest that practitioners familiar with media processes can work with journalists to frame messages, thereby increasing the probability of accurate and effective reporting. Results from this study may help to inform interactions between public health and medical practitioners and the press corrected.
Collection of race, ethnicity, and primary language data of health plan members is a recognized important step in addressing disparities in health care. The authors conducted six focus groups to ...examine perceptions of Massachusetts consumers about collection and use of race/ethnicity and language data by health plans, preferences for how and when the data should be collected, and preferences for racial/ethnic categories. Consumers understood the utility of collecting primary language data from members but expressed concerns about the collection of race/ethnicity data. Despite these concerns, they provided suggestions for using the data to improve care. Their preferences for racial/ethnic categories suggested that they wanted a balance between simplicity and reasonable granular detail. Ultimately, consumers wanted to be assured that the information they provided to health plans would be used to improve quality, and they wanted to be able to provide this information without undue burden and with assurances of confidentiality.
We evaluate effects of low socioeconomic position (SEP) and social networks among Black Hurricane Katrina victims on access to and processing of evacuation orders, and abilities to evacuate before ...the storm hit. We also explore whether SEP, moderating conditions, and communication outcomes affected risk perceptions of the storm's severity and compliance with evacuation orders. We conducted stepwise logistic regression analyses using survey data collected in September 2005 among Black respondents in shelters throughout Houston, TX. Having few social networks, being unemployed, and being of younger age were significantly associated with having heard evacuation orders and whether victims' perceived having heard clear orders. This study provides implications for targeted public health emergency campaigns and future research to understand the effects of sociodemographic influences on communication inequalities and public health preparedness.
This study is a systematic review of a national sample of hospital-led population health programs in place at essential hospitals and academic medical centers in the US from 2012 to 2014. We ...conducted a content analysis of abstracts describing 121 population health initiatives to understand how hospital leaders are translating population health objectives into action. Intended patient population, services provided, and outcomes measured are described. The programs' relationship to an adapted conceptual model of population health as part of a culture of health was assessed. Nearly all programs in the study were hybrids, in that they possessed features belonging to each of the model's two program types (healthcare system and health community system). The majority were focused on patients already attributed to a particular hospital system, but many involved partnerships with community-based or social service resources. This finding reflects the missions of essential hospitals and academic medical centers to improve the lives and care of patients, while recognizing the fundamental need to improve the health of the broader population.
News coverage of health topics influences knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors at the individual level, and agendas and actions at the institutional and policy levels. Because disparities in health ...often are the result of social inequalities that require community-level or policy-level solutions, news stories employing a health disparities news frame may contribute to agenda-setting among opinion leaders and policymakers and lead to policy efforts aimed at reducing health disparities. This study objective was to conduct an exploratory analysis to qualitatively describe barriers that health journalists face when covering health disparities in local media. Between June and October 2007, 18 journalists from television, print, and radio in Boston, Lawrence, and Worcester, Massachusetts, were recruited using a purposive sampling technique. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone, and the crystallization/immersion method was used to conduct a qualitative analysis of interview transcripts. Our results revealed that journalists said that they consider several angles when developing health stories, including public impact and personal behavior change. Challenges to employing a health disparities frame included inability to translate how research findings may impact different socioeconomic groups, and difficulty understanding how findings may translate across racial/ethnic groups. Several journalists reported that disparities-focused stories are "less palatable" for some audiences. This exploratory study offers insights into the challenges that local news media face in using health disparities news frames in their routine coverage of health news. Public health practitioners may use these findings to inform communication efforts with local media in order to advance the public dialogue about health disparities.
Despite a disproportionate burden of environmental hazards in lower socioeconomic positions (SEP) and racial/ethnic minority communities, research suggests that such communities may have concerns ...about environmental risks different from those of their higher SEP and White counterparts. These groups also face disproportionate barriers to accessing and utilizing public health information. Little work has focused on the environmental risk communication barriers that low-SEP minorities face. This paper reports on the results of seven focus groups conducted in three low-SEP Massachusetts communities, with an over-sample of racial/ethnic minorities. We explored (1) definitions of the environment, (2) perceptions of environmental health effects, (3) information-seeking behaviors around these issues, and (4) challenges to accessing and utilizing information. The local environment shapes these communities' perceptions of environmental risks; they face considerable barriers to accessing, understanding, and utilizing other sources of information about environmental health risks. We discuss the implications for future targeted campaigns to reduce negative impacts of environmental health risks.
National survey data reveal that while public awareness of healthcare inequalities in the USA has increased, the public have become less supportive of federal responsibility to address healthcare ...inequalities. Agenda setting literature suggests that news coverage may have an impact on both public awareness of an issue and public support for government responsibility to address that issue, particularly in relation to racial inequalities. This research examines the prominence and content of news coverage on racial healthcare disparities in the USA between 1994 and 2004 in order to disentangle the messages that may affect public views of who should be responsible for reducing racial disparities. Even among those who are aware of healthcare disparities, these data show that support for federal responsibility has significantly decreased.
Results show that the prominence of coverage of racial healthcare inequalities increased over the period. Journalists increasingly used academics, academic reports, experts, advocacy groups, and Republican politicians, as sources of information. Mentions of actors responsible for causing healthcare inequalities were mixed, with a plurality of stories describing no responsible causal agent. Further, we found that approximately half of the articles in almost every time period studied did not report actors who are working to ameliorate healthcare inequalities, nor did a majority of stories call on any actor to address disparities.
As a political agenda to reduce racial healthcare inequalities advances, public support for federal government responsibility will be needed to develop sustainable public policy. This research helps us to understand the messages that the public may be receiving in order to motivate public will to support federal responsibility for reducing racial healthcare inequalities.
The Public and the Smallpox Threat Blendon, Robert J; DesRoches, Catherine M; Benson, John M ...
New England journal of medicine/The New England journal of medicine,
01/2003, Volume:
348, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Government intelligence reports warn of the possibility of bioterrorist attacks involving smallpox. This possibility, coupled with the potential for military action against Iraq, which is thought to ...have biologic weapons, has raised the question of what national precautions against a smallpox attack should be taken.
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The ongoing debate,
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which has been covered extensively in the media and professional journals, centers on three issues: whether front-line health care workers should be vaccinated now,
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whether it is appropriate to make smallpox vaccination available to the general public,
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and whether states should be given additional emergency powers to respond to . . .
Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection is highest among Black women and women of low socio economic position (SEP). These groups face inequities in access to health information on HPV.
Our study ...sought to understand key information channels for delivering health information regarding HPV and the HPV vaccine to Black women of low SEP in Boston, Massachusetts. We anticipated that, owing to a legacy of experiences of discrimination, Black women of low SEP would prefer information from trusted and accessible sources, including friends, family, and community agencies, rather than clinical providers.
We conducted a qualitative analysis using focus groups. We conducted five focus groups among 25 women in Boston, Massachusetts.
Contrary to what we anticipated, we found that women in all of the focus groups preferred to receive information from a physician or health center. Participants preferred to receive print materials they could triangulate with other sources. Notably, study participants had high access to care.
Our study suggests that physicians are trusted and preferred sources of information on HPV for Black women of low SEP in Boston. Our data underscore an important avenue for intervention: to improve dissemination of HPV-related information through physicians, including outreach in community settings.
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