Final Blog

Health communications has been an interesting and informative class. Prior to this class, I had no idea how much work went into a campaign. I have found myself noticing that "communication is everywhere" and I now pay more attention to various forms of communication. Through working on the pan flu project, our team realized how beneficial focus groups can be for creating and disseminating messages. Although it was time consuming to continually change our message, strategy, and channels, we ended up with (hopefully) a more effective campaign. From this class, I intend to look into health communication careers... thanks!

Formative Evaluation

I also appreciated the information on careers in health communication. I have really enjoyed this class this semester and would be really interested in going into a health communication profession. The lecture on formative evaluation was also helpful as it showed how the research aspect in health campaigns is a cyclical process. In creating our messages for the pan flu project, we learned the great importance of formative research, as it is not only necessary in the beginning stages of message development, but also during and after. We ended up changing our messages and strategies several times throughout the semester based on the helpful information we received from our target audience. Had we not done any research and created messages and channels based on our assumptions of the target audience, we would have been way off track!

Entertainment Education

In agreement with KDH, I too am convinced that popular culture is the most effective health educator tool. I thought the Sex in the City clip was a great way to work in a smoking message without being too preachy. I am a fan of the show but have always been bothered by how much they have the main character smoke. I thought her date's simple question of, "You smoke?" was very effective in addressing the impact that smoking can have on others. I think a smoker watching the show might reflect a little on their own lives... for example wonder if that was the reason they never heard back from the cool person they went on one date with... or maybe their friends are bothered by their smoking habit but are afraid to say something. I realize its a fine balance to work in the education component into a popular TV show, however, I think with a little creativity it can be done more often. I know I have experienced a negative health effect by watching a show, for example, thinking how good the cold beer looks that the characters are drinking and wanting one myself. As prevalent as the adverse health messages are, I think the creators (with some help of public health professionals- of course), could come up with simple ways to work in positive health choices. For example, they could have a character from the Grey's Anatomy cast do a work out to burn off some stress or have one of the Desperate Housewives give a little nutritional advice to a friend. I'm wondering though, how much do people really take in when they are in the "suspended disbelief" realm of enjoying their TV time and reserving one hour of the day to not worry about anything? If the message is processed through their peripheral mode of thinking, does it have any effect on them, or do they just gloss over when anything informative comes on? I guess that is where selective perception takes into account... as public health students, more attuned to health messages, we are going to pick up more health info, based on the existing importance we place on health... which means, if we are creating the messages, we may think they will be more effective than they actually end up being. I bet Professor Engelberg would say, "That's why we need to do formative research!!"

Exergames

Last week I had a chance to observe and participate in exergames for my exercise psychology class. We went to a local elementary school that hosts exergames for an after school program. At first glance, I was not impressed with the games as it did not appear as if the kids were getting much exercise from them. However, once I played some of the games with the kids, I found they were actually quite a workout! The class room had several different types of games, including Dance Dance Revolution, Nintendo Wii, and stationary bikes with TV screens simulating motorcycle races. The kids were getting great workouts from the games and were having FUN playing them. Part of me felt like the kids should be outside playing traditional sports and getting fresh air, however I also realized that video games and technology are the games of the future. Through exergames, kids can experience all the same aspects of traditional games, such as autonomy (they get to choose the games they play), competence (they gain performance self-efficacy by progressing through levels), and relatedness (they can play on teams and against other peers, enhancing their social support.) I predict exergames will become more prevalent in schools as they are an innovative way to get kids more physically active.

The last lecture of Randy Pausch

This is a powerful speech...

Nature of Media

The media can be a powerful tool to change the attitudes and behaviors of the public.  I found this Dove health campaign website that attempts to counteract the persuasive beauty messages aimed at women.  I thought the designers of the Dove message did a great job by targeting the parents of young girls to help prevent them from going to drastic and unhealthy measures to meet the cultural trends of unrealistically thin physiques.  

Check it out at: http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/home.asp

Identity Building

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend Tuesday's lecture. I am planning on doing some extra reading though as it sounds like from other comments that I missed an interesting lecture on the application of formative research and real world examples. In reading Engelberg's articles on brand identity and identity building, I was amazed at how much thought and research goes into proactively planning an identity for an organization. I liked the strategy of writing down the mission statement and then replacing the name of your organization with a different one and comparing the similarities and differences. Sounds like the key is to be as unique as possible to distinguish a valuable market niche to fill. So much strategy is involved with developing an identity since a lot of it deals with the audience and stakeholders' perceptions. Once again, I am seeing the great value in formative research as one needs to conduct identity research to best fit the brand and identity with the mission statement.

Reflexes

Wrong Reason Health Promotion

The idea of "wrong reason" health promotion strategies resonated the most with me from Tuesday's class. A "wrong reason" can be a superficial or minor consequence about a health issue, compared to providing the gruesome health consequences like cancer and death. I think this approach is especially beneficial when targeting teenagers as they tend to have an invincible attitude. Most often a teenager will not be effected by the possibility of getting cancer down the road, but they would listen to an immediate problem, such as bad breath from smoking. I looked online for examples of humor in health campaigns and found one that targeted kids and teenagers and highlighted poor reflexes as a problem from eating junk food. The beginning of the ad shows a guy getting kicked in karate as he has a delayed response to block the kick once he is on the ground. I think this strategy of revealing immediate consequences from a poor diet, compared to an attempt to scare them with diabetes, heart disease, and other ailments, would have a greater effect in changing their behaviors.

Health Literacy

After visiting the doctor today and watching the video on health literacy yesterday, I realized how people can easily endanger their lives by not understanding the doctors or their prescription labels.  I found myself asking questions and paraphrasing what the doctor had said to make sure I knew how to take the medication.  Because I was at health services on campus, I'm sure the doctors there assume the students they see are capable of reading the fine print on the prescription labels and can understand the medical jargon used by the health care providers.  I was made aware of how intimidating a doctors visit could be for someone with a low level of literacy, as they would not have the skills to ask important questions if they aren't able to comprehend what the doctor communicates to them.  After I left student health I read over the directions, warnings, and precautions of taking the medication, all of which was in fine print embedded in paragraphs of big words.  I learned some important things about what not to take with the medicine, which was not described to me and would be hard to find for someone with a low level of literacy.  Looking at my experience with a health communications perspective, I am now seeing where change needs to happen and who is responsible.  The health care providers need to make sure patients comprehend the information given to them and printed materials should offer the information in easy to find bullet points.  This brings up the point of 'transcreation' that rewrites the key concepts in easier language.

Reaching Audiences

In my opinion, to label an individual or a group as, "hard to reach," is conceding to failure.  I think it is the researchers responsibility to look at so called "hard to reach" groups as an opportunity for a challenge to come up with innovative campaign strategies.  The alternative conceptualizations to approaching the issue was stated in the article as, "different not deficient" when looking at these "hard to reach" groups.  It is the researchers job to empathize with the perspectives of the target audience to understand their fears and needs. In order to reach these groups, one needs to study how people process information and find the best communication channel to go through.  The video we watch in class provided an example of having a customer centered focus in their marketing strategies.  They looked at trendsetting teenagers to learn about what kind of styles and 'cool' things they are interested in.  The companies like Sprite, would then market their findings and reach their target audience successfully.  The challenge with the teenage population is what's considered cool today will be gone tomorrow, so researchers need to adapt to the ever-changing trends.  These "culture spies" demonstrate that communication is a reciprocal process between the sender and the receiver, as successful communication persists through an ongoing dialogue between the two.  

Audience Segmentation

The exercise in class was really helpful in learning the different ways an audience can be segmented and all the issues to consider.  This class has demonstrated how important it is to do formative research before starting a health campaign, as there are so many aspects of the target audience to address and attempt to understand.  We are lucky to be taking this class during an exciting time in politics, with such a big election coming up.  I have found myself being more attuned to the different strategies that Obama and Clinton are using to tailor their messages to reach specific audiences.  Obama has a lot of support from younger voters and is said to have a "rock star" appeal.  Last week I posted a YouTube video that captures that rock star appeal.  The video highlights an inspiring speech by Obama and is accompanied by various celebrities as they sing his powerful words, "yes we can."  

Presentation Skills

Our last health communications class covered presentation skills and included the importance of nonverbal communication and the power of a good story.  We watched a video that discussed the three different types of faces (closed, neutral, and open) that people use.  The 'open face' is bright-eyed, has raised eyebrows, smiles, and conveys likability.  Interestingly, a person's voice sounds more upbeat and optimistic when their facial expression is open and positive.  Another characteristic of a good speaker is their ability to tell a good story and capture the attention of the audience.  I thought the following video pertained well to our topics covered in health communications. The video demonstrates great presentation skills by Obama's ability to captivate the audience through his eloquence and use of an open face.  The video also creates an effective message by using catchy music, celebrities, and by appealing to a large audience.  I was inspired... enjoy!  

Yes We Can - Barack Obama Music Video

Formative Research

Ever since Tuesday's class on formative research, I am looking at advertisements with an entirely different perspective. The video was very interesting as it revealed the many steps involved in making a commercial. I have found myself analyzing advertisements and thinking about the research involved and who the message is aimed towards. I picture the focus groups, like the ones portrayed in the video, as the companies desperately try to understand their target audience. For example, who is telling Carl's Jr. that messy, ketchup dripping, gigantic hamburgers are appealing? I don't know if it's just me, but the sloppy hamburger campaign has gone on for way too long in my opinion. I know I am biased as I am a health advocate, but I think that campaign has the potential to backfire in the objective to reinforce views, as the ad has worn out it's welcome. But that's just me... On a more positive note, I remember an ad campaign promoting health by Kaiser Permanente that had nice music and catchy phrases aimed to encourage people to get out and exercise more. We learned in class that the three main objectives for a campaign are to either create a point of view, change an existing view, or reinforce one. I think ads have a great potential in succeeding in one of these objectives if they take the time and energy to do their formative research.

Health Campaigns

I agree with other comments about the Communication Persuasion Matrix, as it was very helpful to see the elements of communication and the hierarchy of effects in a visual format. I enjoyed doing the class exercise as it was fun to get our creative ideas flowing and get a chance to apply the theories and lessons about health campaigns. When my group was assigned to promoting physical activity in senior citizens, I realized how important formative research is in understanding the target audience. We were trying to relate to seniors and figure out what might appeal to them, and had trouble thinking of a senior celebrity. Knowing your target audience and what they want to hear, seems like the key to an effective message. Although, we did learn that sex, looks, and money are a safe bet in marketing strategies, as the peripheral cues get people's attention- no matter what the message is! Hopefully after attracting them with one of the big three, we can increase their involvement and get them thinking in the central route about our important health messages.

Health Messages Are Everywhere

I agree with everyone about the excitement of starting such an interesting class in health communications. I'm looking forward to learning about practical applications of all the public health information we have learned so far in the program.  After starting the Coding Communication assignment, I'm realizing that health communication messages are really everywhere! Just as I was starting this blog, a message popped up in my inbox from SDSU. The email was letting me know that I could get a free month at the ARC if I start a membership at the gym soon. (A little FYI if anyone is interested- all you have to do is sign up for a week free pass and they offer the deal.)  Anyways, now that I am becoming increasingly aware of health messages, I am realizing the variety of messages out there and how effective they can be.  It seems that one of the most important aspects of successful communication is to understand the needs of the target audience and how to match the message to best reach them... and hopefully influence their health decisions. Probably much easier said than done, but I'm sure we will learn how to do that this semester!

Welcome to my Health Communications Blog.  On this site I will post comments each week from my Health Communications class at San Diego State.  This site is intended to provide an online journal of the course material we will learn in class this semester.  You are welcome to view my blog and post comments at any time.  

Thanks for viewing! 

Casey  

Health Comm Day 1

Trial blog for health communications...