Media

For all you MythBusters fans out there, tonight’s season premiere - with Adam and Jamie celebrating the show’s 10th anniversary with the myth that started it all, about the JATO Rocket Car - may be of interest. This will be Adam and Jamie’s third attempt to find out whether a car with a jet assisted take off rocket, or JATO, attached to it can “speed up to 300 miles per hour, become airborne, and impact with the side of a cliff.”

And why are we mentioning this on Scope? Because the part where Adam gives a lecture to a room full of students was filmed here on the medical school campus. My colleagues and I were at the scene back in February.

Photo by Jerome Macalma

A past report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that older adults have enthusiastically embraced social media tools. Now comes new research indicating that social media and online communities can provide valuable support for elderly patients in managing their health. Consumer Affairs reports:

“For me, it was interesting to learn that there is evidence for a large potential of social media in clinical practices,” said [Dr. Anja Leist of the University of Luxembourg]. “Older adults can use social media to access health-related information and engage in patient-to-patient-doctor conversations. There are many online forums where people in difficult life situations, such as informal caregivers of a spouse with dementia or individuals with depression, can exchange thoughts as well as receive and provide social support.

“Other positive consequences are that lonely adults can overcome loneliness through contact to family and friends and other users with similar interest,” Leist said.

However, researchers cautioned that several challenges need to be addressed before social media can be used in a clinical setting to help manage patients treatment, such as protecting personal health information and assisting seniors in identifying accurate online sources for medical information.

Previously: Study shows Internet can help raise awareness about cancer prevention, A look at social-media use among psoriasis patients and Patient online peer group offers community, drives research

A position paper recently released by the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) urges health-care providers to carefully consider their actions when using social media or other forms of electronic communication. From a post today on the news@JAMA blog:

To help physicians use social media and other digital communication tools in ways that are more beneficial and less likely to cause harm, the ACP and FSMB produced the current position paper. The paper emphasizes the importance of following the same ethical standards for maintaining the physician-patient relationship, confidentiality, patient privacy, and respect for individuals online or offline. It also recommended that physicians:

• Create separate personal and professional accounts for social media and other interactions online.
• Use e-mail only to communicate with patients with whom they have an established physician-patient relationship and only with proper patient consent.
• Manage their online reputation by periodically searching for their name and creating a profile page of information that will likely be the first item to come up in such a search.
• Be aware that online comments can have lasting effects on a career.

Authors of the paper note in their conclusion that digital communication offers both opportunities and challenges for practitioners, trainees and medical students and the conversation about how health-care providers should use social media and online networks to connect with patients is only just beginning.

[These tools] offer innovative ways for physicians to interact with patients and positively affect the health of communities, but the tenets of professionalism and of the patient–physician relationship should govern these interactions. Institutions should have policies in place on the uses of digital media. Education about the ethical and professional use of these tools is critical to maintaining a respectful and safe environment for patients, the public, and physicians. As patients continue to turn to the Web for health care advice, physicians should maintain a professional presence and direct patients to reputable sources of information.

…

The ACP and the FSMB recognize that emerging technology and societal trends will continue to change the landscape of social media and social networking and how Web sites are used by patients and physicians will evolve over time. These guidelines are meant to be a starting point, and they will need to be modified and adapted as technology advances and best practices emerge.

Previously: How, exactly, can Twitter benefit physicians?, How can physicians manage their online persona? KevinMD offers guidance, 33Charts’ Bryan Vartabedian talks about physician blogging and A guide to the social web for physicians

Whether it’s at a party or in the grocery store aisle, doctors have always been faced with the challenge of patients asking them medical questions outside of the office setting. But now that more physicians are using social media, the question of how to handle medical inquiries in the digital space is becoming an increasing concern.

In this TEDxNijmegen 2013 video, Bertalan Mesko, MD, PhD, discusses using online communication tools to create medical social networks and the challenges in harnessing these communities to crowdsource clinical questions. Pointing to the example of comedian Conan O’Brien jokingly asking his Twitter followers for dermatology advice, Mesko notes that social media can yield misleading medical information and warns, “Crowdsourcing in medicine only works if you know your communities.” Watch Mesko’s full talk to learn more about how he effectively uses online networks to share trusted medical information and why curation is imperative when it comes to crowdsourcing health-care questions.

Via @StanfordMedX
Previously: How, exactly, can Twitter benefit physicians?, How can physicians manage their online persona? KevinMD offers guidance, 33Charts’ Bryan Vartabedian talks about physician blogging, A guide to the social web for physicians and Physician 2.0: Do doctors risk becoming irrelevant if they ignore social media?

Fans of science writing and blogs like ours are likely familiar with the name Ed Yong. The Not Exactly Rocket Science blogger (who also has a very active Twitter feed) covers science in an entertaining, easy-to-understand way - and yesterday he talked about his work and background for a Q&A on the Communication Breakdown blog. When discussing how his previous stint in public affairs benefited his work now, he said:

It helped in two big ways. At [Cancer Research UK], we tested a lot of our leaflets and other materials with people most at risk of cancer, including people without much education, or those from low-income communities. It was an amazing lesson as to what level of scientific language and explanation a truly “general reader” can cope with before tuning out. There’s no more interesting lesson for a science writer than to watch a focus group behind a one-way mirror as they read what you wrote.

Second, we answered emails from people who had been confused/misled/angered by something they read in the paper. And we had to go on TV and radio and be the voice of reason, when the rest of the media were falling into misconception. Both of these experiences showed me how destructive bad science PR or journalism can be for readers, and how horrible it can be for interviewees and sources to be misquoted or misrepresented. I think they’ve helped me to be a better journalist. Certainly a more empathetic one.

Previously: Want to become a better science communicator? Try explaining science to a child and Veteran blogger offers tips for starting a science blog

Video games, which critics say promote sedentary behavior and can glamorize violence, are often associated with their negative health effects. But a piece on Discover magazine’s Crux blog offers an overview of scientific evidence suggesting that gaming could be helpful to a diverse range of patients, including people recovering from severe burns, teens battling cancer, and, according to a new findings, individuals diagnosed with dyslexia. According to the article:

…[A] relatively new branch of science is focusing on the therapeutic aspects of video games. This new generation of researchers who have grown up with video games are starting to use their unique mix of skills to look into the possibility of improving people’s lives through gaming.

…

A study released today finds that video games can be therapeutic in what first seems like an unlikely context: treating dyslexia. Researchers tested the reading and attentional skills of kids with dyslexia before and after playing video games over the course of nine separate 80-minute sessions. They found that action video games, specifically, left the kids able to read faster and better able to focus their attention. In fact, those 12 total hours of video games play did just as much, or more, for reading skills than demanding traditional reading therapies.

Attention and reading skills probably go hand in hand, the researchers say. “Visual attention deficits are surprisingly way more predictive of future reading disorders than are language abilities at the prereading stage,” said study author Andrea Facoetti of the University of Padua in Italy. By improving visual attention, then, games can address this root cause of dyslexia.

Previously: O’Reilly Radar Q&A looks at how games can improve health, Can playing Tetris reduce flashbacks and aid in the treatment of PTSD?, Study shows gaming may be helpful in treating teen depression, Gaming for good: Video games designed to heal and Can video games improve memory, boost brain power?
Photo by Marco Arment

Congratulations are in order for two Bay Area journalists: Writer Lisa Krieger and photographer Dai Sugano have won a health journalism award for the “Cost of Dying” series that ran in the San Jose Mercury News last year. The project was prompted by something very personal - the illness and death of Krieger’s elderly father - and is summarized nicely by the Association of Health Care Journalists, the organization that gave out the awards:

At the center of Krieger’s unflinching account of her father’s last days is an uncomfortable question: “Just because it’s possible to prolong a life, should we?”

Hundreds of readers wrote in to thank Krieger for sharing her story and going beyond the “death panel” rhetoric that so often stifles honest discussion of end-of-life concerns. Her work demonstrates that reporters can sometimes tell the story from an unusual perspective – their own – and touch readers in a different way than would be possible with more traditional coverage.

Sheri Fink, MD, PhD, a Stanford medical alumna, also won an award from the AHCJ in the beat writing category. Fink is currently penning an article on Hurricane Sandy for the next issue of Stanford Medicine magazine.

Previously: On a mission to transform end-of-life care and Is $618,616 too much to (try to) save a life?
Via Covering Health

In case you haven’t seen it, the New York Times’ Well blog quotes Stanford childhood obesity expert Thomas Robinson, MD, in a piece on how to help your kids filter the barrage of pro-junk food messages they get from food advertisements.

As the story describes, Robinson, who directs the Center for Healthy Weight at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, has done extensive research on children’s responses to food advertising and branding. I’m particularly fond of the study where young children tasted pairs of identical foods in different wrappers and said which they liked better. Regardless of the food tested (hamburgers, baby carrots, french fries, milk, whatever), kids said food in a McDonald’s wrapper was yummier than food in a plain wrapper.

Food advertising targeted to kids has become so pervasive - it’s not just on TV but also all over social media, Well reports - that Robinson says parents should do more than just say “no” when their children ask for junk food:

“Respond, ‘Well, why do you want that? Where did you hear about it?’ ” said Dr. Robinson. And if the answer is that the child saw it on TV or on the Internet, “Say, ‘Well, they want you to want it, they’re trying to sell you that.’ And then have a discussion.”

And what about my aspirations of nurturing young cynics? Though teaching critical viewing skills does enhance children’s awareness, Dr. Robinson told me that relying too much on notions of media literacy can actually play into the hands of the advertisers.

“That takes the responsibility away from them and puts it on the kids to be educated consumers,” he said.

If you’re wondering how to help your kids deal with the barrage of messages they get from food ads, the entire entry is well worth reading.

Previously: Health experts to Nickelodeon: Please stop promoting unhealthy food to our kids, How food advertising and parents’ influence affect children’s nutritional choices and The First Amendment and marketing junk food to kids
Photo by quinn.anya

I’m a few days late to this, but a writer with the Columbia Journalism Review has some great things to say about ChopChop, a new children’s magazine that is “beautiful and engaging” and “empowers kids to cook and eat healthy foods, offers recipes even adult foodies will love, and aims to help reduce childhood obesity…” (Indeed, curtailing obesity is part of the publication’s mission statement.) Trudy Lieberman writes:

ChopChop is the brainchild of cookbook author Sally Sampson who was casting about for ways to use her skills to do something about obesity. She approached Dr. Barry Zuckerman, chief of pediatrics at Boston Medical Center, who loved her idea and suggested it was a natural for pediatricians’ offices. And so ChopChop was born three years ago with an initial print run of 150,000. (The Boston Globe ran a business page story soon after the magazine debuted). Today its circulation is half a million with a new distribution strategy. “We changed the model to be where kids are,” Sampson said. That means schools, community centers, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other groups that serve low-income children. Half the magazines go to doctors’ offices and organizations and the rest are bulk sales. Of course, the public can buy a subscription too.

Sampson wants to “change eating habits one bite at a time” and encourage families to eat together. She believes people don’t cook anymore, but if kids can bring the magazine home and ask “can we roast carrots,” that’s a step in the right direction. The fall issue featured a family dinner and showed a family dining on roast chicken with roasted root vegetables like onions, carrots and sweet potatoes. There was a recipe for basic chicken soup that encourages the kids to use left over chicken and offers riffs on the soup—curried chicken soup, tortilla soup, tortellini soup.

Lieberman also points out how important this type of thing is from a policy perspective:

…In America, where more than one-third of adults and 17 percent of children are obese, stopping obesity in kids long before they become young adults with health problems is crucial. Efforts like ChopChop’s are significant. Illness and death resulting from too much of the wrong foods contribute mightily to the growing US health care bill threatening the stability of government programs like Medicare and Medicaid and contributing to the high insurance premiums the rest of us must pay.

Previously: Can cooking classes help curb childhood obesity?, Children and obesity: What can parents do to help?, Smaller plates may be a tool to curtail childhood obesity and Obesity in kids: A growing and dangerous epidemic
Via @TEDMED
Photo by andrewmalone

Over on Mind the Brain today, Shaili Jain, MD, a psychiatrist with Stanford and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, explores the way social media can help people after natural disasters. Addressing the possible mental-health benefits, she writes:

In addition to essential basic resources such as food, shelter and water, connecting with one’s social support whether they be family, community, school and friends are important resources which help survivors recover in the aftermath of a disaster. Such social support offers great protection to survivors in curbing the development of these adverse mental health consequences.

…

…[O]ne could argue that, for millennia, humans have been driven to gather, share testimony and memorialize in the aftermath of disaster. Anybody who works with trauma survivors can speak to the power of bearing witness to their trauma narrative and the healing that occurs when a survivor gives their testimony and how integral that is to their psychological recovery.

Jain highlights some of the research in this area before concluding that we don’t know enough to say that social-media use can prevent the negative mental-health consequences of experiencing a disaster. But, she writes, “the lure of integrating social media technology into our [relief] efforts remains very strong.”

Previously: Grieving on Facebook: A personal story, 9/11: Grieving in the age of social media, On using social media to improve emergency-preparedness efforts and Five ways social media may change mental health care
Photo by Infrogmation