Tag: science

Three Public Health Issues to Watch in 2024 and What They Mean for Health Communicators

Written by Kathleen Petty on January 5, 2024. Posted in Promoting Science, Increasing Awareness, Positioning Issues and Brands.

With a new year comes a new reality in health communications. Public health is grappling with ongoing and new challenges that will inevitably impact our field. As a public relations professional with a master’s degree in public health, I track health care industry trends to help clients navigate the complexities of their work. Here are some of the major health care trends to watch in 2024.

The Controversial Role of A.I. in the Future of Health Care

Artificial Intelligence has permeated seemingly every industry and health care is no exception. Some experts actually predict health is the field where AI may play one of its most controversial roles.

Some are optimistic about technology’s ability to alleviate a few of health care’s pressing issues, such as clinician burnout, patient outreach barriers and diversity in clinical trials. This was a topic of discussion among panelists at the Milken Institute’s 2023 Future of Health Summit. One panelist noted that AI could help in the battle against the spread of public health misinformation – one of the biggest challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, there are researchers and companies dedicating resources to developing AI technology that can automatically detect fake news online. And growing attention to the dangers of AI has spurred the call for teaching basic media literacy in schools, so the public can detect fake news on its own.

Of course, the bigger concern among public health professionals is the direct negative impact of AI on the field. While policies have been enacted to try to restrict AI, such as President Biden’s recent executive order for our country’s health organizations to create a regulatory plan, many experts are concerned that there is no effective way to control it.

These issues will directly impact the work that health care communications professionals do for our clients. The spread of misinformation via AI poses reputational risks for clients. And as AI grows, trust among the public dwindles. It’s likely that in the future, we will not only be communicating key messages, we will also have to counteract falsehoods and find new ways to ensure our clients are seen as credible and reliable sources of information. This will make our jobs even more important to ensure that we are cutting through the noise and getting our clients’ messages right.

Climate Change and Structural Racism

The issue of climate change has been looming over the planet for decades. But researchers are telling us it’s no longer just a threat – it’s our reality. The effects of climate change are being felt in health care. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, climate change is linked to the increase in respiratory illnesses and pest-related diseases, such as Lyme disease. It’s also connected to poor mental health and increases in violent crime.

There is also a growing divide in who is impacted by the effects of climate change. Maranda Ward, EdD, MPH, assistant professor of clinical research and leadership at George Washington University says the impact of climate change on minority populations in particular will be one of the biggest issues facing public health. “Climate change is impacting us all, especially given the role of environmental racism,” she said. “The reason there remains a disproportionate impact on historically disinvested neighborhoods is because of structural inequity.”

In the past few years, we have seen a growing number of organizations looking to address structural racism by funding diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) programs as well as environmental justice initiatives. But the recent Supreme Court ruling to end affirmative action has set off an anti-DEI movement in politics, business, and academics, as reported by Erica Pandey of Axios. We are now seeing funding cuts for DEI programs being pushed on both sides of the aisle.

It is likely that this trend will have an impact on the kind of work that comes through the doors for health communicators. DEI programs that continue to be a priority will likely need to take a different approach as far as communications. We may need to add messaging about how these programs help society as a whole through their mission and purpose, to ensure they remain in place and that they are able to continue the important work they are doing.

The Polarization of Health Care

Over the years, health care has become increasingly polarized, and this trend is likely to be amplified in 2024 with the upcoming presidential election. Health care issues will become a focal point during campaign season, as they always do, and this will only make current hot-button issues even more polarizing.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, health communicators had to work tirelessly against the politicization of public health messaging to ensure our clients’ campaigns could break through and reach target audiences. One of the best examples of polarization in health care is the changing public perception of vaccines. Since the late 1940s, vaccines have been an accepted form of preventative medicine among most Americans. This changed around 2008, when according to a recent report by the CUNY Graduate Center, Republicans began to show more skepticism toward vaccines. This divide was heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic and there are no signs that this will change. Recently, the CDC reported increased vaccine exemption rates among kindergarteners in 41 states.

While there will be many serious challenges on the horizon for health communicators in 2024, there will also be promising opportunities to help clients reduce clinician burnout, improve access to care and increase confidence in scientific breakthroughs. As long as we stay on top of the trending issues within public health, we can help our clients stay ahead.

Promoting Science: How to Get the Media to Cover Research

Written by Kathleen Petty on January 19, 2023. Posted in Promoting Science.

As a communications firm dedicated to health and medicine, promoting science is a major pillar of our work. Over years on The Reis Group team, I have worked to generate national media coverage for dozens of journal articles and scientific abstracts. My background includes a master’s degree in public health, which taught me the importance of a critical eye when reviewing any piece of research. Even studies from prestigious medical institutions conducted through the “gold standard” of randomized controlled trials may have significant limitations that could undercut the findings. As public relations professionals, we must be able to discern whether the research is both rock-solid and newsworthy, as well as important for our audience.

For example, a medical society client of ours recently sought publicity to promote research on a pain treatment for breast cancer patients. Our goal was to place one or two stories during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The treatment was novel—but not easily understood.

Translating the science

Our first step, as with any research we promote, is to understand the science. This means getting a firm grasp on the goal of the research, the methodology used, and most importantly, the findings and their implications. Not everything is worthy of a news release. The keys to attracting attention from sharp science reporters: Make sure the sample size is large enough, the findings are statistically significant, and the methodology is solid. If you’re not careful and accurate, you risk very bad outcomes for you and your client.

What does your audience need to know?

It’s not enough to promote a study’s primary outcome. The media (and your audience) won’t be interested unless you convey the real-life significance of the findings.

When brainstorming the all-important headline, make sure you check with the researchers to make sure they agree with your approach. In your eagerness to push for a newsworthy angle, you might inadvertently badly exaggerate the meaning of the findings. Your researchers can make sure you are not erroneously hyping a “miracle treatment.” Even one careless word choice can misrepresent findings, and your credibility—and your client’s—could take a catastrophic hit.

Demonstrate impact through stories

“Human interest” remains a very powerful tool to generate media interest when promoting science. If the researcher can produce a study participant willing to share their story, it can be a huge factor in attracting media coverage. We profiled a breast cancer patient who was a mother of two young children, a wife, and a professional ballerina. She was forced to give up her career and was unable to take care of her children because of excruciating pain following her double mastectomy. Nothing she tried helped, including multiple surgeries and opioids. She had joined a clinical trial we were promoting, and the treatment helped her immensely. She was so grateful that she wanted to share her story so that other women might find the same relief.

Telling her story was the key to placing an article on the TODAY Show’s website: Post-mastectomy pain made her feel ‘on fire.’ Nerve freezing offered relief. The reporter interviewed both the patient and our researcher. The article highlighted the ground-breaking findings. This prominent national placement made our client incredibly happy. Without our showing how research impacted an everyday person, we would never have drawn national attention.

Promoting science has always been a vital part of the public discourse. But now, more than ever in the age of social media, we must make sure that the information and interpretation we promote to the media is both accurate and crystal clear. It is exciting and rewarding to succeed, but it can be devastating to fail.

Ethical and Accurate Science Promotion: Lessons from COVID-19 and Hydroxychloroquine

Written by Beth Casteel on May 7, 2020. Posted in Promoting Science.

This article previously appeared in PRSA-NCC :

The Guardian recently published an article on how the lupus drug hydroxychloroquine came to be touted as a “miracle cure” for COVID-19. This story is a must-read for any of us in public relations involved in promoting medical research. The article traces the beginnings of the hype of the drug as a potential cure and the deadly results. It provides a primer for distinguishing between valid and misleading research to protect the credibility of our clients—and ourselves.

Reporter Julie Carrie Wong explains several red flags in the initial hydroxychloroquine study that spurred speculation about its use for coronavirus. She cites common flaws in research that most health journalists and public relations practitioners should know to watch for: it was a small study that was not randomized, well-controlled, or blinded. Randomized controlled trials are the gold standard for research because they compare similar patients that are treated the same except that some randomly get the treatment being tested and some do not. Ideally, trials have enough participants to ensure the results are meaningful, and they are blinded so neither the patient nor the evaluating physician knows who received the treatment to eliminate conscious or unconscious bias.

Wong also notes less commonly identified red flags that require a more careful reading of the study, like the number of patients “lost to follow-up.” This refers to patients who dropped out of the study, potentially skewing the results. Dropping or losing track of patients who don’t do well on the treatment makes it easier to claim a 100% success rate, as was done in the hydroxychloroquine trial at the center of this story.

Our agency has declined to promote small studies with large numbers of dropouts. In one case, researchers, for various reasons, didn’t count the results for several patients in the treatment group, while no one in the control group was uncounted or “lost to follow up.” This practice made the results questionable at best or an outright lie at worst.

Claims of 100% success should always raise an eyebrow and make you look closer and the research methods. In nearly 15 years of writing about medical research, I’ve never seen a well-controlled randomized trial tout 100% success.

Another red flag in the hydroxychloroquine study was the use of possibly misleading “endpoints.” In this case, researchers based their claim of the drug’s success on whether virus was found on a nose swab rather than whether patients recovered or died. Such “surrogate” endpoints are often used in medical research because it can take too long to get to meaningful clinical endpoints—such as progression of the illness or death. Such alternate endpoints should be scrutinized and well-justified.

Wong did a great job describing some of the basics of detecting misleading research. Her story can serve as a primer for ethical promotion of medical research.

Besides damaging our own reputation as public relations professionals, inappropriately touting research can actually hurt or even kill people. With hydroxychloroquine, a man in Arizona died and his wife became critically ill after they tried to treat themselves by ingesting a fishbowl water treatment that contained chloroquine phosphate, a compound related to hydroxychloroquine. Moreover, people suffering from lupus who desperately need the drug to manage their condition cannot get it because it has been hoarded in hopes of treating COVID-19. In addition, hydroxychloroquine has potentially serious side effects, including eye problems and potentially deadly heart rhythm issues or heart failure.

The jury is still out on whether hydroxychloroquine is effective against coronavirus. We will be watching for upcoming controlled clinical trials to provide scientifically sound evidence about whether this drug is worth the risks. And we will be watching for opportunities to ethically promote science by providing appropriate perspective on the value of this research.

Our Approach to Promoting Science at Annual Meetings

Written by Staff on October 9, 2019. Posted in Promoting Science.

At The Reis Group we are constantly innovating and evolving the ways we work with clients to promote important research coming out of scientific meetings. As publications cut their news staff in half, and the digital wave continues to transform the PR landscape, it’s important to stay ahead of the latest trends, while also recognizing when to stick to tried and true tactics.

Here are five communications trends to jumpstart the media potential of your next annual meeting:

Ditch news conferences for media partnerships and live social events
Expand coverage through embargo “waves” to appeal to the 24/7 news cycle
Offer reporters an added visual perspective through video packages
Highlight abstracts with click-worthy headlines
Host informal roundtables with leading experts and media to discuss hot topics emerging from the meeting

In addition to managing the press room for scientific meetings, The Reis Group works with medical societies on consumer education campaigns, thought leadership, and positioning of important issues. Check out our case studies and services to learn more about our work in science promotion, public education, advocacy relations, and thought leadership.

Make Vacation a Priority – for Your Health

Written by Kathleen Petty on September 13, 2016. Posted in Firm Culture.

As summer winds down, the days become shorter, kids head back to school, and the morning rush hour traffic picks up. By now, many of us are wistfully reflecting on those precious days this summer that weren’t crammed with meetings or deadlines, but instead were filled with hours on the beach holding delicious fruity drinks with little umbrellas, sitting on the porch swing at a sleepy lakeside cottage, or even a thrill-filled adventure with the little ones, running around Disney World.

Vacations are the perfect way to relax and recharge, and they provide us with many physical, mental and emotional benefits. Unfortunately, according to a report by the U.S. Travel Association, 55 percent of Americans did not use all their vacation time and gave up $61.4 billion in benefits in 2015. By not taking time off, you not only lose out financially, you’re also losing out on many health benefits. So, if you’re leaving vacation days on the table, here’s what you are missing:

Lowering your Stress Levels

We all know that vacations are helpful in reducing stress, but many may not realize just how damaging stress can be. Stress is your body’s natural reaction to threats – that includes deadlines, long hours at the office, handling crises for clients, and presenting at the upcoming board meeting. According to the Mayo Clinic, constant stress causes adrenaline to course through your body, which increases your heart rate and blood pressure, placing you at increased risk for developing anxiety, depression, heart disease, and weight gain. Vacations have been proven incredibly effective at lowering stress levels and helping the body return to a healthier state.

Improving Your Mental and Emotional Health

As your stress level lowers, your mind begins to clear as well. Research shows that vacations can have meaningful benefits for your mental health. They help to improve your mood and relax your mind by giving it a break from the mental exhaustion of work. By taking a break, many people find themselves able to be more present and “in the moment.” This also helps to boost your emotional health as well. The mental and emotional benefits increase with time – so embrace that weeklong trip to the shore – or maybe even two weeks. Your mind will thank you.

Increase your Productivity

Vacations can even help you when you get back to the office, because research suggests that taking vacation actually increases productivity. Results from a study conducted by the U.S. Travel Association found that those who use 10 or fewer vacation days are less likely to get a raise or bonus than those who took off 11 or more. So vacationing is not just a health benefit, but can benefit your career – and paycheck.

It’s easy to find excuses to skip out on a vacation. But the health benefits alone are important reasons for why vacations shouldn’t be ignored. They can be just as important to your happiness and career as showing up for work every day.