Statistically, when a population is educated about the risk of an outbreak of an infectious disease they become more engaged in the eradication process. The threat of an outbreak in the United States could be countered by bringing awareness to the general population so that parents may deem it necessary to get themselves and their children vaccinated, which in essence will increase the percentage of immunized individuals within the population. My question is what would be the most effective medium to achieve this campaign of awareness against another outbreak of mumps?
In this instance, educating the public is a key component in assuring that parents get themselves and their children immunized. I personally know several people who refuse to be immunized because of the ingredients found in immunizations. In the measles/mumps/rubella vaccine (MMR), such ingredients include gelatin and chick embryonic fluid. And of course those words "live virus" engender a certain shock value amongst the uninformed.
ReplyDeleteIt's important for individuals in the non-science community to understand why certain ingredients are present in vaccines, and to learn that these ingredients are not harmful to the averge, healthy human being. (Imagine what people would do if they knew what was in toothpaste!)
Public awareness/decision-making related to the MMR vaccine (or any immunization, for that matter) is driven by more forces than just science; cultural and political factors also play a role. If political figures placed more importance on the role of vaccines in public health, rather than argue for months about their own self-serving interests, then perhaps the public would be more informed about immunizations in general and be more inclined to vaccinate.
Aside from pamphlets found in doctors offices, I think the media could potentially change the way people view vaccines. Local news stations usually have a "Pet of the Week" segment on the Fridy morning news cast. Why not do the same for different vaccines based on the time of year outbreaks usually occur? Having an actual doctor explain vaccinations in layman's terms might assuage the public's unrest regarding vaccines. We are constantly bombarded with commercials about various types of anti-depressants and birth control...why not air commercials regarding vaccinations?
In essence, I think political figures placing more importance on the issue, while also utilizing the media to promote vaccination awareness, are a few steps in solving this problem.
Here's an article I found at the library that covers this very question in more detail:
"Addressing the vaccine confidence gap," by Larson, Heidi J; Cooper, Louis Z; Eskola, Juhani; Katz, Samuel L; Ratzan, Scott
Hope this helps!
I recently watched the movie “Contagion” in theaters. It made me interested in this post but not for the same reason. I was more interested in the question of media’s education causing public hysteria.
ReplyDeleteFor any of you who have not seen or heard of this movie, “Contagion” is a thriller about a contagious disease. The disease spreads quickly and soon is causing a global outbreak of a highly contagious, highly deadly disease with no vaccine or cure. The virus that causes the disease mutates quickly and makes it difficult to find a vaccination. The spreading virus causes mass deaths and wide-spread panic across the world.
While this movie serves as a very shocking reminder that such an epidemic is very much a possibility, I wonder if it will cause an unnecessary sense of panic in the public eye. I think it is important to educate people on the likelihood of such events, and how to help prevent outbreaks, however, I am also worried that, in a world of hypochondriacs who diagnose themselves with cancer because they have an achy shoulder, panic may ensue when there is not a necessity for it at this moment.
I think it will be interesting to see how the mass public responds to the movie but I also think it is important to see that health associations are using the popularity of “Contagion” as a springboard to educate people on the spread of contagious illnesses. The CDC foundation has an entire page dedicated to real cases like those in “Contagion” that are preventable if treated correctly. They do not sugar coat it; they warn that, yes, diseases of this sort are very feasible. Yet, they also make sure to tell people, the CDC is ready to handle a situation if it were to arise (CDC Foundation). Other sites, such as the American Pharmaceutical Association use the worries created by the movie to tell people how they can help prevent out breaks by doing things like washing hands and staying home when they are sick (Sheffer, 2011). I think the health associations are taking a step in the right direction, battling hysteria by educating the public about how to be safe.
Refrences:
“How CDC saves lives by controlling real global disease outbreaks”. 2011. CDC Foundation. < http://www.cdcfoundation.org/content/how-cdc-saves-lives-controlling-real-global-disease-outbreaks>.
Sheffer, Joe. “Contagion depicts panic and public health response to devastating virus”. 2011. American Pharmacists Association. < http://www.pharmacist.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home2&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=26867>.