The HCC Brownbag series for 2007-2008 kicked off on November 14! Look to this page for updates, or join our mailing list for future events.
Dr. Jean Wiecha, of the Harvard Prevention Research Center, presented her work with Planet Health and other interventions targeting childhood obesity at our first brownbag session of the year.
About the Speaker Series.
The HSPH Center for Health Communication, in collaboration with the School’s Division of Public Health Practice and Office of Communications, sponsors a colloquium series on "Mass Media and Health."
In 2005, the series presented:
Media Coverage of Health: Murky Findings, Mixed Messages, Public Angst
A steady drumbeat of front-page controversies, surprises, and scandals over the past two years--Vioxx, obesity-related mortality rates, estrogen, calcium, low-fat, and stem cell research fraud, among others--threatens to seriously damage the credibility of health research, creating a risk that the public will turn away from public health pronouncements. As a recent USA Today editorial put it, "Yesterday’s conventional wisdom is today’s myth. No wonder so many are skeptical about whether any study can be believed." And, The New York Times recently carried this headline: "Reporters Find Science Journals Harder to Trust, But Not Easy to Verify."
Speakers:
- Dr. Lawrence Altman, medical correspondent of The New York Times
- Dr. Tim Johnson, medical editor of ABC News
- Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Dr. Drummond Rennie, deputy editor of The Journal of the American Medical Association
- Dr. Meir Stampfer, chairman of the Department of Epidemiology at HSPH
- Dr. Jay Winsten, associate dean and Frank Stanton director of HSPH’s Center for Health Communication
Health Messages in Prime-Time TV
Americans receive health messages by watching TV. How important is the accuracy of the information and how much do viewers retain?
Featured speakers:
- Dr. Neal Baer, executive producer of Law & Order: SVU and former writer on ER.