Talking About Health; Why Health Communication Matters

Did you hear about the voluntary recall of Bufferin products?

January 9, 2012

I’m back. It was a fabulous break. The piles on my desks at home and on campus grew smaller. I was nourished by hugs and kisses from my grandchildren, children, and parents. I set some new goals for the next five years that include using up all the good stuff that I have a tendency to ‘save’. And I heard a lot of communication about health that I can’t wait to start sharing. But a news’ story this morning set today’s topic for me.

You see, I have this gallon size resealable plastic bag that I have been carrying around for months now. Inside the bag are broken aspirin. I thought it was just me and just the bottle I purchased. But it turns out that a lot of people have been complaining about this problem. And so today, the company making these products issued a ‘voluntary’ recall. Here is a link to a list of products being recalled — http://www.novartis-otc.com/otc/index.html. It includes Bufferin and Excedrin products.

And according to this story — http://www.click2houston.com/lifestyle/health/Novartis-issues-voluntary-recall/-/2597500/7663306/-/w0taie/-/index.html — the problem may be more than quality control related to broken pills. Stray pills or parts of pills may be getting mixed into products. So please check this out and share the recall information with friends and family members who may use these products. Doing so is an important part of communicating about health.

Consumer Reports and Apple Juice: Why Did Dr. Besser Apologize to Dr. Oz?

December 11, 2011

Not long ago, near the end of September, I reflected on the debate that took place between Dr. Besser and Dr. Oz about apple juice. It was a chance to consider the meaning of evidence when reports appear about the safety of food or other substances. I noted that I would have appreciated it if Dr. Besser had spent more time talking about why the evidence was of poor quality and less time attacking Dr. Oz.

Well, new data is in. Dr. Besser apologized to Dr. Oz and aimed his criticism at the FDA where data about arsenic in applie juice had been piling up for a number of years. A new study released by Consumer Reports added to that data. Dr. Oz gives tips about the amount of apple juice that should be safe for children at different ages to drink. It is clear that all of us need to keep asking for answers to the question: how did the science reach that conclusion? When we ask, someone just might listen and try to give a more valid answer…

Inquiring minds want to know–floss before or after brushing?

October 10,2011

Well, conversation at conferences can turn from the serious to the mundane but arguably serious. “Do you floss before or after you brush?” was the question at a recent conference. My answer: brush, floss, and brush again. Why? Who wants to brush before — yuck! But alas the American Dental Association provides a reason for flossing before brushing http://www.ada.org/1318.aspx.

In short, flossing gets the ‘yuck’ out so the fluoride in your toothpaste can reach your gums and promote health by reducing gingivitis. OK. Now you know.

Why didn’t my dentist ever tell me that? I suspect that dentists are happy if we floss at all…any time.

Weighing in — what’s the debate about Dr. Oz and the apple juice story really tell us?

September 21, 2011

All has been quiet on the talking about health front. I am in the midst of teaching the undergraduate class about designing health messages at Penn State, so it is odd that I don’t find my way here more often. But in the fury of the debate over the Dr. Oz show about apple juice. [go here to read and listen to the debate if you want more information: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/arsenic-apple-juice], I had to make time to add a few thoughts.

First, in favor of Dr. Oz — his show entertains us and informs us at the same time. We do have to remember that someone has to pay the bills for the show, so the entertainment quality has to be there. It is that simple.

The positive things about a show like Dr. Oz is that it can arouse public passions about scientific issues and lead to health advocacy. It may increase healthy behaviors and improve our vocabulary when it comes to talking about health and the science of health.

But on the negative side–it can be confusing and contribute to inaccurate understanding. It may arouse public passions but these can be misdirected.

The apple juice show and related debate illustrates both. The headline for the page above and the text beneath illustrates this reality. What is an “extensive national study”? According to the text, it means “dozens of samples” from “three different cities”. That is neither extensive nor a nationally representative sample.

How was the study conducted? Even with the several dozen samples, there is much room for the approach to vary. Did the tester shake the apple juice before drawing a sample? That might be important in terms of how the contents in the apple juice are distributed through the liquid. Did the tester take a sample from the bottom of the juice container or the top? Did the tester take more than a single sample of juice from each of the containers tested? Inquiring minds want to know…

But instead of focusing on specific and direct questions to guide our understanding, the backlash focused on name-calling. Skimming the contents of various letters from companies represented on the show and the Food & Drug Administration–FDA–“irresponsible” might be the most frequently leveled charge. Dr. Besser calls the Dr. Oz show “fear-mongering”. Watch this exchange:

I give credit to Dr. Oz for remaining calm and answering the charges.

But I wanted to know more about organic and inorganic arsenic levels, and other issues such as I raised above. I wanted to know less about Dr. Besser’s “upset”…

How are church dinners changing eating habits in the Mississipi Delta?

August 30, 2011

Access is everything. Access to health care. Access to education. Access to employment. Access to role models who walk the walk and talk the talk.

One of the followers on this blog brought the New York Times article, ‘Preaching a healthy diet in the deep-fried delta’, to my attention. You can find the article at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/us/22delta.html?pagewanted=all.

Why in the face of so many messages about diabetes, obesity, and heart disease would anyone continue to eat fried foods? Because it tastes good. And because we socialize and have fellowship with family and friends over meals that feature these foods. But Reverend Michael Minor and other church leaders have been working to change all that.

‘No fry zones’ and fruit platters, fresh water and no soda… these are the new ‘normal’.

What did I miss in the message about Neti pots and brain-eating amoeba?

August 22, 2011

Perhaps you heard stories last week about a brain-eating amoeba and the use of Neti pots [http://www.wdsu.com/r/28921234/detail.html]. I heard a headline first about a young boy who died after being at a fishing camp and falling into water where he apparently had contact with the amoeba and it got into his body.

I heard about the Neti pot and exposure to the brain-eating amoeba from my husband who asked me to remind him to tell our daughter-in-law about it because she uses a Neti pot. And your sister, I added…

“What can you do about it?” I asked. My daughter-in-law suffers from allergies and sinus problems and the Neti pot provides relief. I didn’t want to just ‘scare’ her. After searching a few stories, I learned that you can use distilled water in the Neti pot to avoid any risk. [http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/health&id=8314285] Of course, I had to read to the very last line to glean that advice…

How about this: Neti pot users can avoid risk from amoeba by using distilled water. Open the story this way or use this in a headline to state how to respond to the risk. Repeat it near the end to reinforce the response. But avoid telling a tale that arouses fear without a suggestion about how to reduce the risk near at hand…

O-meg-a… How to talk about nutrition and omega 3?

August 17, 2011

As my husband completed his annual check-up this year, the doctor adivsed him to increase his intake of omega 3. So my ears perked up when Dr. Oz talked about the supplement [ http://www.drozfans.com/dr-ozs-advice/dr-oz-omega-3-vs-omega-6-the-big-o-know-your-omegas/].

As with all supplements, it can be challenging to judge products and make informed decisions about their use. And this is not exception. There is a great example of this in http://www.omegavia.com/dr-oz-omega3-supplements/ where a nutritionist gives a different point of view than Dr. Oz gave about omega 3.

This is what I appreciated about this summary.

First, it does not present a recommendation that is EITHER — OR… Instead, it carefully describes omega 3 options. As a result, I am left feeling better informed about how to judge products containing omega 3.

Second, it provides research summaries, including the citations to the scientific articles that support the discussion. I was able to search out some of the work and get even better informed about omega 3. This helps me be a better consumer of this supplement and gives me confidence to talk to my husband about using omega 3…

What’s new under the sun?

April 20, 2011 GUEST BLOG POST by Caroline Gilson

Over the years, the desire to be tan led to use of tanning beds. Somehow, tanned skin is seen to be sexy and attractive. As many people have continuously begun to be “addicted” to tanning beds, their skin has been put in a dangerous environment.

Tanning beds have a different type of UV rays called UV-B rays. UV-B rays are more harmful to the skin than the sun’s UV rays.

The dangers of tanning beds have caused the need for educational programs to educate the public about the health concerns involving tanning beds. Research studies have been done to find out the best way to communicate about the tanning beds. One study in particular looked at the use of narratives, and statistics. (http://www.springerlink.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/content/

457nhk7324q63501/fulltext.pdf)

This particular study discovered that both statistics and narratives could be effective in educating individuals about the dangers of tanning beds. Specific stories about real life people seem to grab people’s attention. Statistics about tanning beds on top of narratives help with persuasion and education about tanning beds.

The research has been done and now it is time to effectively educate the public about the risks of tanning beds. Hopefully, through health communication, society will make better health decisions…

How should we talk about tanning?

April 12, 2011 GUEST BLOG POST by Danielle Torrisi

Take a look around any college campus, and you’ll notice at least a handful of tanning salons. Pick up their college’s newspaper and you’ll find ads for tanning salons with gorgeous, tanned women pictured with the slogan “Beautiful Tan Today. Young looking skin tomorrow” and promotional discounts that is sure to catch the eye of any student. The tanning industry portrays tanning as harmless and risk-free. However, research has shown that the incidence of melanoma has continued to rapidly increase since the 1970’s.

A recent study at a southern university surveyed 492 students and results showed that a majority of the participants knew sun exposure increases the risk for skin cancer, but only 29% correctly identified behaviors that reduce this risk.

Less than 46% of the participants were able to identify signs of melanoma, and less than 10% were able to identify the primary area of the body for melanoma. Approximately half of the participants strongly believed that a tan improves one’s appearance, and only half thought that sun safe behaviors are necessary. It is very troubling to learn that they think their appearance outweighs their health.

College students need to be informed about the dangers of using tanning beds in hopes of changing attitudes and behaviors. It all starts with the media and advertisements need to show a more natural appearing skin. “As long as marketers portray being tan as healthy, attractive and sexy, young women will continue to believe that a tan is desirable, regardless of the risks” (Spradlin et al).

It needs to be understood that there is no such thing as a healthy tan. “In fact, UVA rays which are used in tanning beds can go all the way through the skin’s protective epidermis to the dermis, where blood vessels and nerves are found. Because of this, UVA rays may damage a person’s immune system, making it harder to fight off diseases and leading to illnesses like melanoma, the most serious (and deadly) type of skin cancer” (Tanning). This needs to be reinforced in student’s minds in order to see a behavior and attitude change.

To view this article go to: Citation: Spradlin, Kimberly, Martha Bass, William Hyman, and Rosanne Keathley. (2010). Skin Cancer: Knowledge, Behaviors, and Attitudes of College Students. Southern Medical Journal. 103, 999-1003.

What’s in an egg?

February 9, 2011

I heard it on the morning news. I heard it on the evening news. … Eggs are healthier. Remember the days when eggs were responsible for clogging our arteries and leading to high cholesterol levels? Well, the soundbites suggested that things are much improved… I was happy, as I like eggs. Boiled eggs. Scrambled eggs. Omelettes… French toast. One of my fondest memories is having brunch at home on a lazy day…with an omelette as the main course. But with high cholesterol in the family, I have avoided eggs.

And then I listened closely. And the story said, “cholesterol in eggs has been reduced 14%…” Hmm, that didn’t sound like much. And then, “so if you eat two in one day, you are still over your daily recommended level for cholesterol.”

Well, there it is again. A headline. And the news story. They don’t exactly contradict each other. But close. So, sigh. I still won’t be eating many eggs…