psychological affects of media sensationalism of public health issues
DESCRIPTION
Studying the affects of media sensationalism of public health issues on the general publicTRANSCRIPT
Psychological Affects of Media Sensationalism of Public Health
Issues
By: Danny Gallegos
Agenda
• Introduction • Statement of Purpose• Hypothesis• Methods• Results• Discussion
To bring awareness to the public and health industry that media sensationalism of public health issues is harmful to the general public
Statement of purpose
Hypothesis
The psychological affects of media sensationalism of public health issues is more harmful than beneficial for the general public
Methods
• Observation• Literature Review
• SARS• H1N1 - Swine Flu• Influenza• Media Exposure• Vaccination response• Health industry products (facial masks, anti – bacterial products)
GLOBAL SARS OUTBREAK, 2003
November 2002 through July 2003, a total of 8,098 worldwide cases of SARS according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
774 died.
By late July 2003, no new cases were being reported, and WHO declared the global outbreak to be over.
In the United States, only eight cases confirmed as SARS . There were no SARS-related deaths in the United States. All eight persons had traveled to areas where SARS-CoV transmission was occurring.
Center for Disease Control, 2004
Health Statistics > SARS fatalities (most recent) by country
VIEW DATA: Totals
Definition Source Printable version
Bar Graph Map Correlations Showing latest available data. Rank Countries Amount
# 1 China: 349
# 2 Hong Kong: 299
# 3 Canada: 43
# 4 Taiwan: 37
# 5 Singapore: 33
# 6 Vietnam: 5
= 7 Thailand: 2
= 7 Malaysia: 2
= 7 Philippines: 2
= 10 France: 1
= 10 South Africa: 1
= 12 Germany: 0
= 12 Switzerland: 0
= 12 Indonesia: 0
= 12 United States: 0
Weighted average: 26.7
DEFINITION: Number of deaths SOURCE: WHO, SARS Summary
Search » Health
ICU casesand Deaths Deaths
2100 592
Reported ICU and Fatal Cases of 2009 H1N1 Influenza Infections in California (as of July 31, 2010)
2009 California Population 38,000,000 est.
.000015 percent of California population died from H1N1
Influenza
• U.S. – 25 - 50 million cases annually• U.S. – 30 – 40 million deaths annually• Worldwide – 1 billion cases annually• World Wide – 300,000 – 500,000 deaths
Flufacts.com
Profiting from pandemics
Birmingham, Alabama–based BioCryst, inhibitor peramivir, for influenza. 90% stock boost to $3.29 on April 27, after 1N1 influenza (swine flu) grabbed headlines.
Novavax stock dropped from $2 per share to around 85 cents in mid-April. But when swine flu became the topic of conversation, Novavax’s shares jumped more than 200% to $2.55 over two sessions.
Similarly, in 2005, when the flu was avian rather than swine, Novavax’s shares traded at less than a dollar for most of that summer. However, in the fall, when the company’s avian flu vaccine performed well in animal models, Novavax’s stock jumped to close as high as $5.53.
Nature Biotechnology
Anti Bacterial Products•Bath & Body Works. Sales of hand sanitizers
are up more than 50% at the chain, which sells more scented hand sanitizer than anyone else in the category, says Camille McDonald, president of brand development.•Justice. At many of its stores, the tween-targeting fashion retailer is selling mini hand sanitizers as impulse items next to the register.
USA Today
Results
•Unfounded fear and panic• Health industry market profits• Increase risk due to numbness, less Doctors visits, less vaccinations• Increased risk of high resistant bacterial strains, influenza is a virus
60 % of health professionals decline flu vaccinations
The New York Times
Discussion• Limitations – information is scattered and not readily available, possible from high profit pharmaceutical companies• No complete direct study of effects of media sensationalism of public health issues on general public• Begin general survey • Gather company specific financial information for related health products• Public needs to be educated and cautious of media sensationalism• Hand sanitizers, 99.9% bacteria killed, helps resistant bacteria• Better safe than sorry ?
Conclusion
The pandemic is the psychological affects of media sensationalism of public health issues on the general public