Health education from television: Patients may bring something from "ER" to exam room

A study looks at the impact of health-related information conveyed by TV.

By Stephanie Stapleton, AMNews staff. Jan. 29, 2001.

New findings from a survey of responses to the television drama "ER" support a concept that many public health experts have advanced for a long time: Patients often pick up information while being entertained that sparks discussions with friends, family and even their physicians.

The study, "Communicating Health Information through the Entertainment Media," was conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and published in the January-February Health Affairs. It explored a basic premise of communication theory, which holds that when people are exposed to a consistent set of messages, they incorporate that information into their understanding of the world.

When it comes to health-related messages on TV, this concept is a tricky one, presenting "both a challenge and an opportunity," said Mollyann Brodie, one of the report's authors and the foundation's vice president and director of public opinion and media research. Although there is great potential for reaching people through this mechanism, there is also the chance that inaccuracies can be conveyed, she added.

The Kaiser survey involved reaction from a random sampling of "ER" viewers to two short, health-related vignettes. The first vignette involved emergency contraception. The second dealt with human papillomavirus. Preshow, postshow and follow-up surveys were designed to assess knowledge gained and retention based on the information communicated during these episodes. A second component measured viewers' interest in health-related story lines. [...]