Chapter 3

Health Communication is about information

Health Communications: Method for collecting, compiling, and presenting health info

    Addresses how we perceive, combine, and use information to make decisions

Collection

Data from public health surveillance are collected, published, and distributed without identifying any individuals

Data from different sources are increasingly being combined to create integrated health data systems or databases.

7 S’

  1. Single Case/Small Series

    1. Reports of one or few cases that can highlight new or unusual health issues, such as rare diseases or outbreaks

  2. Statistics/Reportable Diseases

    1. Collected data on births, deaths, and diseases required by law to be reported, helping track population health trends

  3. Surveys-Sampling

    1. Structured Questionnaires gather info from a representative group, providing insights into health behaviors and conditions

  4. Self-Reporting

    1. Individuals report their health experiences, such as adverse effects of medications or vaccinations, which can identify potential issues.

  5. Sentinel Monitoring

    1. A system that tracks specific health events or diseases in a select group (sentinel sites) to provide early warnings of outbreaks

  6. Syndromic Surveillance

    1. Monitoring symptom patterns in populations, such as increased reports of headaches or gastrointestinal issues, to detect possible outbreaks

  7. Social Media

    1. Analyzing data from social media platforms to monitor public health trends and identify outbreaks based on user-generated content

Compile

Population health stats measures summarize the health of populations:

  1. Infant mortality rate

  2. Life expectancy

  3. Under-5 Mortality

  4. Years of Potential Life Lost

    1. Focuses on deaths that are premature

    2. Puts more emphasis on deaths that occur at younger ages

  5. Excessive Mortality

    1. Measures the total impact of an event by counting deaths directly and indirectly related

    2. Does not take into account age of individual

  6. Health-adjusted Life expectancy

    1. Starts with life expectancy and incorporates measures of quality of life

      1. Mobility

      2. Cognition

      3. Self-care

      4. Pain

      5. Mood

      6. Sensory organ function

  7. Disability-Adjusted life expectancy

    1. Often reported by disease or can give a summary measure of population health status

Present

Examine each of the key quality standards of health information

  1. Overall site quality

  2. Authors

  3. Information

  4. Relevance

  5. Timeliness

  6. Links

  7. Privacy

  1. Incomplete Information

    1. Accurate information that does not provide a full picture

  2. Misinformation

    1. Inaccurate or false information believed by the user to be true

  3. Disinformation

    1. Incorrect information intentionally presented to encourage specific actions


Effectively Display Info

  1. X-Y graphs

  2. Geometric Graphics

  3. Pie charts

  4. Must consider the health literacy of the intended audience

    1. Degree in which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate decisions

Perceive

3 types of effects can drastically influence our perceptions of potential harms and benefits

  1. Dread Effect

    1. Hazards that easily produce visual and feared consequences

  2. Unfamiliarity Effect

    1. Hazards we lack experience with may elicit more fear

  3. Uncontrollability Effect

    1. Hazards out of our control are perceived as more threatening

Combine

Utilizing Info to make Healthcare Decisions:

  1. Risk-taking attitudes

    1. Favor taking or avoiding actions that differ from the recommendations given

  2. Certainty Effect

  3. Long Shot Effect

  4. Risk Takers vs Risk Avoiders

3 Approaches

  1. Inform of Decision

    1. Clinician has all the essential info and can make the decisions that are in the patient’s best interest

  2. Informed Consent

    1. Clinician provides a recommendation; Patient needs to be given adequate information and give their permission before intervention

  3. Shared Decision-Making

    1. Clinician provides information or resources to the patient, with which they can make a decision