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.)

Outline For Major Project

Some of you have chosen to analyze an existing campaign. Some of you have chosen to develop a new campaign.  Regardless, the following outline should be helpful.

• Analyze or develop a campaign strategy.
• Analyze and diagnose the environment and marketplace.
• Audience analysis
• Environment (PEST analysis)
• Organizational/internal assessment (SWOT)
• Choose among strategic options
• Communications plan (a broad outline)
• Tactics employed - be medium, market, segment, audience.
• Targets & Means - the 'what's' and the 'by when's'
• Metrics - how measured.
• Feedback and evaluation
• If analyzing an existing campaign: what worked?  What learnings?
• If creating a new campaign: how would you measure success?

"Even Boulder Finds It Isn't Easy Going Green."

Please read this article by Stephanie Simon from the February 13, 2010 Wall Street Journal. It has some relevance for your work as health care communicators, especially as the article puts it, "...a cautionary tale about the limits of good intentions."

Using Geography and Demographics To Enhance Behavorial Targeting

From ClickZ:

"Global brands struggle to reach unique markets that vary in levels of product awareness, brand maturity, and cultural norms. As a result, how people make decisions tends to differ as well. Take, for example, the pharmaceutical industry. In the United States, people are urged to go to their doctor and ask for the latest and greatest product. It's new - it must be better, these ads infer. Commercials and Web sites even offer tips on how to approach your physician with your request. Newness and innovation are king in this market. Cross the pond to Europe and marketers face two totally different audiences and behaviors. In northern Europe, consumers react positively to messages highlighting the science and testing that go into a new product. A bit further south, messages that demonstrate how a product may make you feel, invoking a much higher level of emotion, resonate with communities with a highly experiential, emotional communication style."

Read the entire article at this link.

Video: The Future Of Health Care Communication, from Sam Basta's blog "Healthcare Innovation By Design."

Acting Ethically

From Trusted Advisor: The financial basis for acting ethically.