Final Exam Questions

Ten questions:

1. In your opinion, what are the two most important defining features of health care communication, and why?
2. Use our class discussion on the theory of the diffusion of innovation and the importance of "early adopters" to assess the emergence of E-health and its impact on health care communication.
3. Outline how family and/or cultural beliefs affect your ideas of health and illness, and how those beliefs may support (or detract from) your abilities as a health care communicator.
4. Describe the most common verbal and non-verbal clues that affect satisfaction with health-related encounters.  How are those clues affected by culture, age, gender, etc.?  (Hint: begin with the greeting and work forward...)
5. You are pitching publications with a story aimed at raising awareness of the importance of regular mammograms for the early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer in women over 40 years of age.  List some potential elements and angles for your story to attract reporters' attention and secure media coverage.
6. You've been hired as a communications consultant to develop a health communications plan.  Identify the steps in your process of developing the plan.  Would you use an "expert-led" approach or a more participatory approach?  Why?
7. What are the key characteristics of "good" objectives?
8. Define an "audience analysis" and discuss the importance of research to a sound understanding of an audience.
9. Using the SMART approach, assess the following communications objectives:
1. "By the year 2012, 5 percent of U.S. parents who live in Florida will use sunscreen and other preventive measures to protect their children from the damaging effects of excessive sun exposure."
2. "Reduce the incidence of skin cancer."
10. Describe how you would measure the cost-effectiveness of two different tactics you are proposing to influence the behavior of a specific population.  Assume both tactics have been validated as equally effective and focus only on cost-effectiveness parameters, e.g. financial cost, human resources costs, time, etc.)