As physicians, we have a responsibility to stay abreast of the medical literature to provide state of the art pediatric care. We have at our disposal reliable resources to stay current, from professional organizations that provide us with updated practice guidelines, to scientific publications with cutting-edge medical research and clinical databases that offer support for medical decision making.
The greater public, however, does not have the luxury of a guide to navigate the health information ocean. In addition to traditional news outlets, such as television and the printed press, the advent of the Internet and social media have placed unprecedented amounts of medical information at everyone’s fingertips.1 But not all health information is created equal, and even “Dr. Google” has admitted its symptoms search engine has not been very helpful.2
Dr. Anne-Laure Talbot
Many websites, despite authoritarian-sounding domain names, are not impartial providers of medical information. The power of the media to shape public perception is perhaps nowhere more poignantly felt than in the pediatric community, where the now thoroughly debunked study by Dr. Andrew Wakefield that linked the MMR vaccine to autism continues to have lingering effects on vaccination rates.3,4
I recently completed an internship in medical journalism with ABC News in New York City to better understand how the news media provides health and medical information to millions of Americans. Lay medical journalists have the complicated task of reviewing new research, weighing its newsworthiness, and distilling complex concepts down to easy-to-digest sound bites. Working with medical correspondents and the editorial team, I reviewed new scientific studies, dissected their impact, and pondered their potential for a catchy headline. I also wrote content for medical segments and participated in educational Twitter chats. What made the headlines wasn’t always what I thought should make the headlines, and translating the results of a randomized, controlled trial into a 60-second script for television felt near impossible. Dipping my toes into medical journalism gave me a new appreciation of my role as a physician educator – avoiding health information overload and promoting meaningful health literacy for my patients.
© Catherine Yeulet/ iStockphoto
The 24/7 medical news cycle is here to stay. Our patients will continue to use various media platforms for medical information whether we like it or not. It is our responsibility as pediatricians to help families get the most relevant and current medical information. By directing them to trustworthy sources, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics at healthychildren.org or the National Library of Medicine at www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus, we can strengthen our therapeutic alliance while promoting health literacy.
References
1. Interact J Med Res. 2015 Jun 22;4(2):e12.
3. “A Discredited Vaccine Study’s Continuing Impact on Public Health,” by Clyde Haberman, Feb. 1, 2015.
4. Ann Pharmacother. 2011 Oct;45(10):1302-4.
Dr. Talbot is a third-year resident at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. She said she had no relevant financial disclosures. Email her at pdnews@frontlinemedcom.com.