Unit 6

Discuss your opinion, as a health educator, of the level of personal empowerment you think patients and the community currently have for their health care. You have experienced different types of new media in this class and in your personal lives. After reading the article, what is your opinion of the viability of using new media in your professional practices and with your patients, clients, and communities. What would prevent you from implementing some new media into your professional practices?
With the availability of new information as well as fast health care access, patients are gaining a greater empowerment over their heath. Specifically, with the universal and wide availabilty of the Internet, patients are able to have a much greater control over their health anywhere and anytime. For example, ordering prescriptions through the internet have made it easier and faster for patients to order their medications whenever they need them. Also, many health issues related information are presented through the internet where patients can go and learn about different drugs, diseases, diagnosis, etc..However, not all informtaion concerning healthcare are valid and reliable on the internet and thus patients will need to make sure they're getting the correct information. I think new media should absolutely be implemented in my health care profession as it presents an easier and more convenient way for people to learn about their health. The article by Hanson et al discusses different types of social networking media. I actually don't think that such social networks wil be implemented in my health care profession. I think those site are great for social networking but not necessarily for patient communication. I think electronic mails and blogs are a great source for communication and thus can be implemented in my profession. From my past experience, the elderly are one of those groups that will have difficulty keeping up with new media. Thus I think new media should absolutely be implemented but also a traditional way of communication should be followed in order to target those groups.

Think about your group's PSA. If you were the PR person, briefly describe what you would need to consider in creating a marketing plan that would be inclusive of the PSA. Use the 4P's marketing principles to guide your response.
In the article "Social Marketing for public Health,"the authors identify four components that are crucial in the world of marketing. Those four components consist of the product, the price, the place and the promotion. In our PSA video, the topic was sun protection. The goal of the PSA is to change people's views about the sun and to have them take action in order to protect their skin from the damaging utlraviolet rays. Thus, in this case the product is a message that would call for a behavioral change. The "social product" can also be a social and consumable object such as sunscreen. The best place for the promotion of sunscreen is dermatology centers. Physicians, specialists and skin care consultants can advise patients to always use a sunscreen. Also, local pharmacies can pass out brochures and pamphlets on the harmful effects of the sun and the importance of using sunscreens. Different community workshops are also a good tool to use to maximize sun awarness among different people. The message and the product are both very affordable for people to practice and use.

The authors describe 3 types of marketing orientations and how to view social marketing as an exchange process. Reflect on your own experiences, either personal or professional. Currently what type of marketing orientation is dominate for the health promotion/education industry? Give an example. For your example, what do you perceive were the costs & benefits of using this type of marketing strategy?
According to Philip Koltler social marketing is defined as "the design, inmplementations and control of programs calculated to influence the acceptability of social ideas, and involving consideration of product, planning,pricing,communication,distribution,and marketing research."Social marketing is not just social advertising that seek to reach out for a particular group of consumers, it is a much systematic process which focuses on the needs of consumers. According to the article, early in the marketing history, social marketing was perceived as an economic exchange of some payment for some tangible product. However, in recent years, social marketing has become more and more sophicticated. This technique of social maketing, now, not only seeks to target the physical needs of the consumers but also the psychological needs. One of the most popular programs of social marketing in the health care domain which gained a lot of attention recently is the ALLI program. The program does not promote the selling of some diet pills but it also forces the buyer to adopt a healthy lifestyle. The goal of the program is to help buyers realize that obesity is unhealthy and that lifestyle changes need to be made. The program uses a strategy design system to publicize the product. The alli is seen everywhere, on television commercials, popular magazine ads, at drugstores and at physician's offices. The program also offers a detailed agenda on how to maintain a healthy weight. It also includes a small booklet on some healthy food recipes. For the consumer who decides to be part of the alli program, the benefits might be far greater than the costs. Unlike most diet programs, the alli program does not promise the consumer to notice dramatic weight loss just by taking the pill. The program clearly indicates that consumers need to plan a healthy diet, as well as excerice along with the pill in order to see results. This realistic view of the alli program makes it easy for consumers to believe in the reliability of the program and thus buy the product. By doing so, the program uses the communication strategy outlined in the article to tell consumers about the product. The cost of alli is relatively expensive comparing to the other over the counter diet pills. The cost of developing some serious side effects can also be a concern for some individuals.

Blog 3

In the Collins & Tilson article, they discuss the characteristics of generational groups and how this knowledge can help educators design more effective instruction.Do you agree with the characterics of your generation? As an educator, give an example of how you would try to implement one of the method of instructions if creating a unit of instruction for millenials
In the Article By Collins and Tilson, the Millenial generation are" those students who are born in the year 1982 and later." According to O'reilly, they are described as ambitious, warm, confident, practical and self centered. In my opinion, this description is a little bite too general and does not necessarily fit all millenial students. I believe that personality differences as well as culture variations will be an ultimate deciding factor. Personality types such as introvert and extrovert also play a role. Those who are introvert may not feel comfortable working with others. Whereas, students who are extrovert are much more sociable and motivated to work in groups in order to achieve a certain task. Also, some cultures encourage competition. In this case, group and team learning is very minimal and therefore does not always apply to the millennial generation. According to Tapscott, millenials are curious, assertive, selfreliant and accepting of diversity. I strongly agree with this description because as more immigrants come to the States, the more aware people become of diversity and cultural differences. As opposed to the silent and the Boom generation, millennials are the most knowledgable about cultural diversity. This is mainly due to the internet, the availability of many study abroad programs, community involvement and the rise of immigrants. I also believe that millenials are "curious," and are more skeptical about their surroundings than any other generation. They learn best by doing and not just observing. For this reason as an educator, I would implement an activity where students have to pick a subject and research it and then present it to the rest of their class. Therefore, millenials learn to be independent and will be able to achieve self confidence and competence when presenting information to other students.

Blog 2

The Zarcadoolas et.al article proposes a health literacy model inclusive of four domains. Do you believe all four domains are of equal importance? Is there one that you think carries more weight in increasing the health literacy of an individual or population? Support your position with examples from the article and/or anecdotal professional/personal experience.

In the article,"Understanding health Literacy,"Zarcadoolas et.al introduce a model of health litercay which can be used to analyze issues associated with public health. Four different types of domains are identified in the process. The four domains are: fundamental literacy, science literacy,civic literacy and cultural literacy. Even though all four domains are of equal importance, I strongly believe that fundamental literacy plays an important role in increasing the public health literacy. According to the article, during the anthrax outbreak, a research was conducted showing that" individuals with less formal education were more likely to be worried about exposure to anthrax." A few years years when I used to work at a local pharmacy, a woman came in claiming that her son is terribly sick and is suffering some serious side effects. Surprisingly, I came to find out that when she picked up his prescription, she decided to give her son a lot more than the prescribed dose, thinking that the more medication he takes, the sooner he'll recover. This is clearly an uneducated way of thinking. Fear and worry can sometimes provoke someone to do things that are not in his or her best interest. Just like during the anthrax case, when people started taking cipro, not aknowledging the fact that their body can become resistant. I beliebe that ignorance and negligence are what prevented this woman from giving her son the right dose. I feel that many people are too busy or sometimes too naive to read basic numerical instructions. In order to increase health literacy, it is necessary to translate abstract medical terminolgy to a simple fundamental language that the average person can understand. By doing so, we can minimize and avoid confusion.

Blog 1

The Sharif article discusses the relationship between social capital, health, and technology. Discuss a technology you think has a negative impact on social capital and health. Discuss a technology that has a positive impact on social capital and health.

In the article, "social capital and Health in a digital society,"Sharif makes a clear correlation between certain technological advancement and the social capital or well being of people. while some advancements have proved to create a positive impact in our lives, others have proved to be more harmful than beneficial. One of the advances which I believe have made a tremendous difference in this recent century; is cellphones. I personally have witnessed how efficient and life saving cellphones can be. I think that nowdays people rely on their cellphones for mainly everything including paying bills, calling for prescriptions refills, scheduling appointment and so on. I also believe that cellphones are most helpful during emergencies, or whenever one's life is in danger. Therefore, not only can they save time, but they can also save people's lives. Wireless phones can be used anywhere, which makes it even more convenient for people to accomplish tasks and get things done. The different features of a cell phone such as voicemail, text messaging, and interent access offer a great opportunity for people to communicate faster, and will absolutely facilitate interactions. One of the greatest advances ever known to history is the interent. I believe that as much as the interent is an important tool, it also has some drawbacks. Social networks such as facebook, myspace, tagged and so on have gained a huge popularity over the past couple of years. The number of people who utilize these networks has also been on the rise. I understand that people join these networks for social reasons. However, these sites could be a huge time waster if not used properly. More and more, research have shown that people who spend too many hours in front of a computer screen will eventually have impaired vision over the long run. I finally think that the internet is a great technology and a valuable resource when it is used the right way.

In the Bardzell et al. article, the development team used the ADDIE Model to create a distance learning environment. Which part of the process was most interesting to you? Why?

The part which I thought was interesting, is the evaluation approach. In any distance learning program, it becomes very crucial to assess and find out whether or not students are learning what they are supposed to learn. I believe that students' attitude toward the internet will be a determinant factor on how they will perform in the class. Therefore, it is very important to know the students' perceptions regarding the interent and how they feel about this technology.