Almost done...for now!

Okay...I almost forgot to post a comment forthe last week. Just like everyone else, I'm consumed with end of the semester projects and studying for finals! I will definitely be working less next semester. This class has definitely been insightful and will be very useful in my job. Especially when it comes to putting together a proposal for some new position within the company and implementing programs. Who knew there were so many opportunities out there in public health?
We have our final presentations tomorrow. It's been an interesting experience getting involved with a community project. Hopefully our efforts will payoff in the long run.

Health Campaigns

So, this week in class we had our second round of presentations about our health communication campaigns. All of the groups did much better than the 1st round. Although it's been difficult for many of us to reach our target audiences, especially my group, "The Walking School Bus", it looks liek we're headed in the right direction. Who knows, you may just see some of these first hand in the future if they can be put into action by the organizations we are working with.

Who Knew?

So...as expected, I suck at this blogging thing. I don't really like to be on the computer, so it's not exactly the first thing I think about doing. Anyway, I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and didn't eat too much.

So, most recently we've been looking at public health issues addressed in pop culture and entertainment. Remember, all of those cheesy t.v. shows we used to watch, like :Saved by the Bell" and how they used to bring up topics affecting teens at the time. What about songs like "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera. Most of us know the words to just about every song on the radio, yet we don't often think about the meaning behind them.

We watched a video clips from movies that I normally wouldn't have thought about as promoting health topics. Who knew it was so simple to use entertainment as a source for health communication?

Take a moment to really pay attention to what your watching or listening to and see how many health issues you notice. I'm sure you'll be surprised. I was!

Health Literacy

It was interesting and sad to see how many people in America were illiterate! Then again, even intelligent people may not necessarily understand specifics about their own prescriptions or new drugs on the market. A lot of us just tend to do what the doctor tells us, right?

The SMOG exercise in class was fun. Apparently my group is pretty good at writing at an 8th grade level! If you have a paper or literature to be published, check out this website and see if our illiterate america will be able to understand it! http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/campaign/SMOG.html

Campaigns and Marketing

Hey guys...we've been working on our campaigns and learned a few things about segmentation in order to determine who our target audience is. If you get a chance, check out this website to get an idea about who your neioghbors are. It's pretty interesting.
www.claritas.com then go to zip code look up.

Another good one is www.sric-bi.com and take the VALS survey. What kind of personality do you have and what kind of consumer choices do you make.

Week 5, Segmentation

The segmentation exercise was interesteing. It really made you understand how many different ways there are to distinguish what group of individuals we want to focus on when designing a health promotions campaign. As for the video we watched about advertising...It amazes me to see how much really goes into designing a campaign. Who knew these companies actually had psychologists on staff! The point about the advertisements making us feel reassured about a purchase we have already made really hit home. I always have buyers remorse!!

Presentations and Spilling Your Guts, Week 4

Presentations...Haven't we all gotten sucked into some of the things Dr. Engelberg pointed out on what NOT to do! It really drives home the point that it's not necessarily about how much knowledge you have on the topic you are presenting if your presentation is not engaging the audience. I'm really looking forward to the group projects since this will be the first time I really get to get involved with a health promotions campaign in the community. I'm sure it will be an eye opener for me.Spill You Guts: So this has been a daily thing for me at work. I work for a hotel and in a way, it's just good customer service. Everyone likes to tell their story. I don't usually know the guests name when they arrive, but I simply ask them or ask them a question about a shirt their wearing with an event logo on it and away the questions go...Looking back this tactic has worked on me many times!

How Theory Shapes Health Campaigns

The group presentation seemed to be a little more difficult than expected for most of us. It made me realize how much time you really do need to invest in designing a campaign that will reach your target audience. It is fairly easy to see how a message/program can get looked over regardless of how much time and money are put into it if the message is not received or interpreted correctly.

Just a reminder...

Nearly one-third of American adults are obese and at risk for numerous life-threatening health conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 50% of American adults do not get enough physical activity to achieve any health benefits from it. It is recommended that all adults should participate in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on five or more days of the week. Learn how exercise can improve your overall health and why it’s a habit worth keeping.
Benefits of Exercise
Regular exercise and physical activity are extremely important and beneficial for long-term health and well-being. Here are just a few of the many health benefits regular physical activity provides:
• Reduces the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes, and obesity.
• Lowers total blood cholesterol and triglycerides, and increases good cholesterol.
• Helps people achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
• Relieves stress and anxiety.
• Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints.
• Improves range of motion.
• Improves quality of sleep.
• Increases energy and endurance.
• Promotes psychological well-being.

For more information:
American Academy of Family Physicians: www.familydoctor.org
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov
National Institutes of Health: www.nih.gov
Shape Up America!: www.shapeup.org
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WebMD and the American Academy of Family Physicians

PH663 Week 1, The Last 50 Years

Wow! Times have definitely changed. I've been out of school since 2000. I guess I better get used to using the computer more often, other than to check my personal email.
Week 1:
It was interesting to see how the focus on certain health issues has changed over the last 50 years and the different advertising tactics that were used in an attempt to influence us into adding or removing certain behaviors from our lives. I'm not too sure how much any of those advertisements influenced my own behavior, but some defintely caught my attention more than others. (Remember...the graphic quit smoking campaigns from a few years back???)