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For further information contact the
Office of Communication
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Building 16, D-42
1600 Clifton Road, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30333
E-mail:
HComm@cdc.gov |
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Overview
The
CDC recognizes the power of popular entertainment in shaping the perceptions
and practices of its viewers. Television shows, movies, and music not only
command the attention of their audiences, but also reinforce existing
behavior, demonstrate new behavior, and affect audience emotions. The CDC
often partners with Hollywood executives and academic, public health, and
advocacy organizations to share information with writers and producers about
the nation's pressing health issues.
The CDC Entertainment Education Program works in partnership with
Hollywood, Health
& Society (HH&S) at the University of Southern California's Norman Lear
Center to provide expert consultation, education and resources for writers
and producers who develop scripts with health storylines and information.
Popular entertainment provides an ideal outlet for sharing health
information and affecting behavior. We are interested in providing
information that covers a variety of topics including violence against
women, suicide, lead poisoning, hospital infection, bioterrorism, youth
health issues, HIV/AIDS and much more. Knowing that 88 percent of people in
America learn about health issues from television, we believe that prime
time and daytime television programs, movies, talk shows and more, are great
outlets for our health messages. In May, 2000, the Office of Communication
at the CDC convened an expert panel of fourteen mass communication scholars
to develop a research agenda for entertainment
education. In May 2003, a second panel will recommend a research agenda
that addresses the impact of entertainment storylines on multicultural
audiences, i.e. Hispanics and African Americans.
Not
only is television an effective outlet, but in some cases it speaks directly
to the audiences that we most want to reach - those at greatest risk for
preventable diseases. In fact, findings in a 1999
Healthstyles Survey indicated that regular viewers of soap operas
reported more health concerns than individuals who do not watch soap operas.
These findings led to the development of the CDC Sentinel for Health Award
for Daytime Drama in October 1999. This award recognizes the exemplary
portrayal of health issues in television soap operas.
CDC awarded "Viki's Breast Cancer," from ABC's One Life to Live
the first-ever
Sentinel
for Health Award for Daytime Drama in 2000. In 2001, Hollywood, Health &
Society partnered with CDC to recognize "Raul's Diabetes" from CBS's The
Young and The Restless, and in 2002, to "Tony's HIV" from CBS's The
Bold and The Beautiful was recognized as the winner. The diabetes
storyline generated scores of letters from viewers who said the storyline
helped them or a loved one to recognize early signs of the disease and to
receive a diagnosis and treatment. The HIV storyline contributed to the
largest spike in callers to the CDC's national AIDS hotline for the entire
year, when an 800-number Public Service announcement aired with the key
character, Tony. In 2003, the Sentinel for Health Award was awarded to The
Young and the Restless for "Neil's Alcoholism."
Resources for TV Writers and Producers
The Sentinel for Health Award for Daytime Drama is just one example of
how we use entertainment to educate people about public health concerns that
affect their daily lives. Through the Hollywood, Health & Society program,
public health and medical experts offer expert consultation, education and
resources for writers and producers who develop scripts with health
storylines and information.
Tip Sheets for TV Writers and Producers
Tip
Sheets for TV Writers and Producers contain easy-to-use, credible
information on the nation's most pressing health issues and topics of
interest to writers. Each tip sheet includes a description of who's at risk,
typical symptoms, prevention messages, case examples, and a list of other
resources. Over 130 tip sheets are currently in development at Hollywood,
Health & Society, with many of these already available online. The broad
range of topics includes skin cancer, sudden infant death syndrome,
smallpox, and antibiotic resistance.
Story Consultation
Hollywood, Health & Society staff hold meetings with the creators of TV
shows and network campaigns, conduct expert briefings for writers, and
respond to inquiries for health information. The meetings inform network and
show staff about the full range of services that are available to them,
including everything from calls for factual information to visits by CDC
experts who have national responsibility for health issues. Experts can
answer questions in person, by telephone or through e-mail correspondence.
Program staff can arrange expert briefings for an entire writing staff of a
TV show; set up one-on-one conversations between a producer and a health
expert to explore storyline possibilities; and identify real people who deal
with health issues first-hand, on a personal, professional or community
level.
Panel Discussions
Expert panel discussions are planned with organizations like the Writers
Guild of America, west and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to examine the
implications of dramatizing critical public health topics in entertainment
programming. CDC officials and other health experts talk about difficult
public health issues such as bioterrorism, youth risk behavior, the
uninsured, mental health and more. Entertainment professionals who have
grappled with these topics discuss the challenges and responsibilities they
face when bringing them to the screen.
Research on Audience Effects and Needs
CDC and USC staff collaborate on research efforts to measure the impact
of TV shows and other entertainment formats on audiences. National surveys
have shown that daytime and prime time viewers pay attention to the health
information in TV shows, learn from it, act on it, and share the information
with others. A recent study of hotline callers who responded to a public
service announcement during a health storyline suggests similar findings.
Current projects include analysis of national survey data to interpret the
impact of Spanish-language media on Hispanic audiences, monitoring 30-plus
TV shows that are popular among Hispanic, African American and general
audiences for health content, and assessing the impact of a prime time TV
storyline on syphilis.
For additional information, contact:
Vicki Beck, Director
Hollywood, Health & Society
Mandy Shaivitz, Project Manager
Hollywood, Health & Society
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