This recipe is brought to you by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
Ingredients:
1 large SCARE TACTIC
1 handful of Medical professionals
5 Major Media Outlets
1 shot of influenza
Directions:
1. Report initial cases of disease:
a. Associated w/ severe illness and/or outcomes
b. Occur among people for whom influenza is not generally perceived to cause serious complications (e.g. children, healthy adults, health seniors)
c. In cities and communities with significant media outlets
2. Medical experts and public health authorities publically state concern and alarm (and predict dire outcomes)- urge influenza vaccination.
3. The combination of those two steps will result in:
a. Significant media interest and attention
b. Framing of the flu season in terms that motivate behavior (e.g.as “very severe,” “more severe than last or past years,” “deadly”)
4. Continued reports – help foster the perception that many people are susceptible to a bad case of influenza
5. Visible/tangible examples of the illness (e.g. pictures of children, families of those affected coming forward) and people getting vaccinated (the first to motivate, the latter to reinforce)
6. References to, and discussions, of pandemic influenza
7. Vaccination demand is related to heighted concern, anxiety, and worry. For example:
a. A perception or sense that many people are falling ill
b. A perception or sense that many people are experiencing bad illness
c. A perception or sense of vulnerability to contracting and experiencing bad illness
8. Effectively addressing parent concerns about the number and timing of vaccinations and thimerosal
9. Component of success (i.e. higher demand for influenza vaccine) stems from media stories and information that create motivating (i.e. high) levels of concern and anxiety about influenza
10. Inducing worry, raised anxiety, and concern presents many dilemmas for health care professionals, but remember:
a. The belief that you can inform and warn people, and get them to take appropriate actions or precautions with respect to a health threat or risk without actually making them anxious or concerned. This is not possible. Rather… “This is like breaking up with your boyfriend without hurting his feelings. It can’t be done.”
Sounds like a recipe for disaster and disease if you ask me. The FULL version of this “Recipe” can be found at:
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/36/2004_flu_nowak02.pdf