Wednesday, June 15, 2005

The Forgotten Segment   Last week a reader asked me what Cowboy Troy (see June 1st post) had to do with social marketing.  My quick answer was that it had to do with understanding audiences, in this case what I consider to be a forgotten one – the blue collar, working class American.  For over 20 years I have sat in meetings discussing and planning national health communications (social marketing) programs on as broad an array of health topics as you can imagine.  I have yet to see a campaign or program that explicitly targeted blue collar male or female workers.  Why this is, I am not sure    A quick look for articles about health and blue collar workers with several search engines found a few articles discussing the higher tobacco use rates among blue collar workers and programs to help them quit (Sorensen).  Another study found that among blue collar women workers, social support was associated with higher rates of physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, and cervical cancer screening (Kelsey).  What was surprising is that I did not find much else.  Why this is, I am not sure.   Sorensen talks about the need to reduce social disparities in health status.  To begin to appreciate what the social disparities are is the epidemiological question.  The marketing question is what do we know about these audiences and their realities?  My belief is it is not too early to start.   So listen to Cowboy Troy and other country music once in a while to learn the rhythm and tune.   On May 23rd I noted a review of Sunday Money, a book about NASCAR.  I picked a copy up at the airport the next day and can say that it is a “behind the pits” view of NASCAR and not too deep on profile of the fans.  However, here are a few nuggets I caught.   Pervasive bumper sticker at NASCAR events:  “Everything else is just a game.”  This takes off on the notion that there are only three sports where your life is really on the line – boxing, bullfighting and racing (though I would add bull riding to the list as well).  The rest are just games.   Quote heard in the pits looking up at the crowd: These are the people who fight our wars.   Note taped to a cash register:  The most elegant mathematical formula in the world is: 1 cross + 3 nails =  4given   And then for laughs:   It's been variously referred to as hick, redneck, Nascar or Wal-Mart comedy.  The humor bends toward jokes about a grandmother's flatulence and deer hunting with the wife. Blue Collar stand-up routines and comedy sketches - like Larry the Cable Guy's buzz phrases "Git-r-done" and "Lord, I apologize," and Mr. Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck if ..." have become part of the vernacular of tens of millions. [link]                           10:01:22 PM

National Cancer Institute sponsored/co-sponsored health/ehealth communication conferences   Here is a list of upcoming meetings that may be of interest to some readers.  Please go to links or email contacts for further information.    July 14-15        What Can Communication Science Tell Us About Promoting Optimal Dietary Behavior?  Lister Hill Auditorium - NIH Campus, Bethesda, MD - Registration at door.   July 18-20        Translating Research into Practice (with emphasis on obesity and health disparities reduction).  Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC: [link]    Sept 14-16       NCI's 4th Linking eHealth Science and Business SBIR/STTR Showcase.  Bolger Center, Potomac, Maryland.  For agenda and registration information, email Connie Dresser at cd34b@nih.gov   Sept 29-30       Sixth Annual eHealth Developer's Summit, Boston, MA  [link] or contact Dr. Tom Eng at: teng@ehealthinstitute.org                                   11:57:22 AM

Playing Shell Games with Data   Today’s NYT reports on “new studies” that demonstrate that teens who take virginity pledges were less likely to acquire sexually transmitted diseases and engaged in fewer risky sexual behaviors (link).  Actually, these studies are reananlyses of the original dataset that had previously been reported as showing no positive outcomes on STDs for those who took the pledge, though onset of sexual intercourse was delayed by 18 months.   Independent experts called the new findings provocative, but criticized the Heritage team's analysis as flawed and lacking the statistical evidence to back its conclusions. The new findings have not been submitted to a journal for publication, an author said. The independent experts who reviewed the study said the findings were unlikely to be published in their present form.   That the new analyses used self-reported rates of STDs is one issue.  That they used a p=.10 as the standard for confidence is another.  That the CDC supported this research brings them back into the fray.  And that the authors of the current work criticize the authors of the previous study as having deliberately misled the press and the public about some of its findings, certainly lites the match.   A couple of weeks ago a White House aide was reportedly rewriting sections of the scientific report on global warming.  Now I guess they are outsourcing it.   We always talk about basing social marketing programs on a solid scientific basis - be careful of whose science you are using.  This and other recent episodes offer a sad commentary for those of us who grew and were trained to believe we were all after "the truth" and would be objective in our search for it.   Addendum:  After the original posting, I came across this article in the Washington Post today:   A former White House official and one-time oil industry lobbyist whose editing of government reports on climate change prompted criticism from environmentalists will join Exxon Mobil Corp., the oil company said Tuesday.   Like the Bush administration, Exxon Mobil Chairman Lee Raymond has argued strongly against the Kyoto climate accord and has raised questions about the certainty of climate science as it relates to possible global warming. Greenpeace and other environmental groups have singled out Raymond and Exxon Mobil for protests because of its position on climate change.   To turn a saying on its head: Let no foul deed go unrewarded!       10:04:21 AM

© Copyright 2005 Craig Lefebvre. Last update: 7/6/2005; 11:24:21 AM.