Communication and Health in the Information Age

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Communication and Health in the Information Age

• K. Vish Viswanath, Ph.D.
• Harvard School of Public Health
• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

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Abundance of Health Information
Print News Coverage of Health Issues
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Health-Related News Stories Increasing
Ethnic Print Coverage of Leading Health Issues
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Health-Related News Stories Increasing
National TV News Coverage of Leading Health Issues
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• Study Gene may be linked to arthritis

much water
You can drink too
Drink a Day May Keep Older Women Sharp
Arthritis Drug Study in 2000 Found Risks
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Looking for a definitive answer, I turned to
another study, this one conducted by a group of
doctors at Stony Brook University in New York.
But their finding that drinking three glasses of
red wine a week reduces the risk of colorectal
cancer only confused matters further.
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Incidental Exposure to health
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HOLLYWOOD STARS RISK THEIR LIVES -- FOR THEIR
LOOKS
Many top Hollywood stars are taking injections of
a powerful substance that could kill them - all
in an attempt to stay young. Desperate stars have
gotten hooked on a drug - costing as much as
2,000 a month - that experts warn can increase
the risk of breast, colon and prostate cancer as
well as diabetes. An in-depth ENQUIRER
investigation exposed Hollywood's newest craze -
which ensnares both young and old. We spoke with
advocates of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) - and
those bitterly opposed to its use. While insiders
are reluctant to break the Hollywood code of
silence and "out" stars taking HGH, The ENQUIRER
has learned that many A-list celebrities have
been linked to the highly controversial
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Challenges in the Information Age

• Challenge 1
• More information does not necessarily mean more
  communication.

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Everything Causes Cancer
40
31
18
11
Strongly Agree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
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Dont Know Which Recommendations to Follow
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36
15
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Strongly Agree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
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Not Much People Can Do
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36
22
6
Strongly Agree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
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Challenges in the Information Age

• Challenge 2
• Information is always controlled. The number of
  actors exercising control is, however, going up.
• Viswanath, 2005

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Challenges in the Information Age

• Challenge 3
• Information is always unequally distributed
• There exists a Communication Inequality among
  individual and groups
• Viswanath, 2006

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Education and Cancer Myths Breast Cancer
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Education and Cancer Myths Smoking
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Education and Cancer Myths Family History
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Communication Inequality

• Differences among social classes in the
  generation, manipulation, and distribution of
  information at the group level and differences in
  access to and ability to take advantage of
  information at the individual level.

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Dimensions of communication inequality

• At the individual level
• Differences in
• Access to and use of information channels
• Attention to health content
• Seeking Information
• Recall, knowledge and comprehension
• Capacity to act on information

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Dimensions of communication inequality

• At the societal level
• Differences in the generation, manipulation and
  distribution of information among social groups.
• Capacity to act on information

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Recent Work

• SES, Race and Ethnicity are associated with
• subscription to cable or satellite TV and the
  Internet
• daily readership of newspapers
• Attention to health content in different media
• Differential time with different media
• Knowledge gaps in health
• (Viswanath, 2005 Viswanath, In Press Viswanath
  et al., In Press Ramanadhan Viswanath, In
  Press)

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Access to Information sources

• Attention to health content in the media

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How Much Attention do You Pay to Health topics
on.? (by Education)
A Lot
A Lot
Not
Not
at All
at All
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Communication Inequality Public Health

• New media

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Access to Information Services among Different
SES and Racial Ethnic Groups
Note For all ethnicity assessments, multi-racial
persons were excluded from the analysis. Data
from HINTS.
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Major Media and their Audience Demographics in
the United States
United States Bureau of Census, Statistical
Abstract of the United States, 2004-5, available
at http//www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/04statab/in
focomm.pdf
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Reasons for not using the Internet

• Costs too much (almost 1 out of 2 Hispanics
  are likely to agree)
• It is complicated to use
• (60 of
• No differences among the groups on
• lack of interest

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Inequality in comprehension and knowledge of
health information

• Issue of health literacy in the informed decision
  making environment
• 47-51 of US adults lack basic literacy skills
  (1992 NALS)
• The Knowledge gap hypothesis

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Percent saying that their chances of cancer
increase by "a lot or some" with exposure by
Income
90
80
70
60
50

Percent
25,000 - 49,999
40
50,000
30
20
10
0
Smoking
Exposure to Sun
Income
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• Role of Journalists

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News Media As Sources of Health Information

• Critical channels for communicating information
  on health
• Defining health issues for the American public
• Media coverage of a health topic can heighten
  salience and frame issues
• Influence attitudes and behaviors
• Impact of news is mediated by interpersonal
  channels such as doctors and significant others

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Barriers to Story Development
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Story Identification and Development
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Source Reliance
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Story Identification and Development
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Story Identification and Development
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Reporting on Health
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• The public is in the front of reporters minds
  when developing a health or medical science
  story.
• Potential for public impact is the most
  important newsworthiness criterion that
  influences the development of a story.
• Disseminating accurate information and educating
  the public are most important goals cited by the
  respondents.

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Communication Inequality Public Health The
Future

• Communication inequality is an important
  determinant of health disparities
• Media have a critical role in informing the
  public
• Tackling Behavior Lifestyle in collaboration
  with others is critical!
• It is important to put Health Disparities front
  and center on the public agenda

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Members of the Lab

• Kelly Blake, MHS
• Katrina Bond, MPH
• Josephine Crisostomo, MPH
• Jose Jorge
• Emily Zobel Kontos, SM
• Susan Koch-Weser, Dr.Ph.
• Sara Minsky, MPH
• Lisa Lowery, BS
• Kalahn Taylor-Clark, Ph.D.
• Shoba Ramanadhan, MPH
• Andy Reisenberg, MA
• Sherrie Wallington, Ph.D.
• http//www.hsph.harvard.edu/viswanathlab