i am such a dedicated student. this is digging into my quilting time.
i wanted to continue looking at public health campaigns and their unique ability not only to present government-or agency-funded information thought to be pertinent for public health, but also to provide a snapshot into the public hysteria around a hot-button topic. i think we'd all agree that as new information or novel angles to a health crisis, from a PSA campaign point of view, the take home message of the campaign might shift slightly--or a great deal.
do all of us in this class know that AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) used to be called GRID (gay related immune deficiency)? are all of us familiar with the anti-stigma campaign launched out of ontario in 2008 due to the terrifying legal precedents set by the canadian judicial system? (canada is a world leader when it comes to criminalizing HIV non-disclosure, which means we have the largest number of cases in the world in which seropositive people choosing to have sex without telling their partner their serostatus have been sentenced to jail time under such descriptions as 'assault with a deadly weapon,' *regardless of whether the HIV- partner became infected*).
do all of us know that, when it comes to HIV, apparently fear-based PSAs don't work? http://www.ickaprick.com/2008/11/fear-based-aids-messages-backfire-says.html
here are two youtube videos about HIV prevention, one from 1987 called the grim reaper, and a redux from 2007 called the glam reaper. first of all, the juxtaposition is like this: australian public health services decided to redo a previous campaign which was largely met with anger, grief, and fingerpointing, and made it fabulous so that it could have resonance and convey a message of hope. secondly, it's hilarious in its 2007 reincarnation, and definitely maximizes the queer campy trope that modern queers hear as being interpellative of our own homo communities, ie us addressing one another.
GRIM REAPER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U219eUIZ7Qo
GLAM REAPER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NZ8eJuPPaU
lastly, a quick google search shows that, according to a 2004 academic study (http://www.nice.org.uk/aboutnice/whoweare/aboutthehda/hdapublications/effectiveness_of_public_health_campaigns_choosing_health_briefing.jsp), apparently there is renewed interest in public service campaigns, partly due to the fact that "behaviourally based interventions can be significantly more cost-effective than traditional service delivery." the interesting part though, is that this study attributes mass media public health campaigns with the following broad population changes:
HIV/AIDS
• Changes in levels of tolerance: those in the general public who say that homosexual relations are always or
mostly wrong - 74% in 1987; 44% in 1997
• Attitudes to people with HIV infection: those who think people with AIDS have only themselves to blame
- 57% in 1987; 36% in 1996
• Belief that a condom protects against HIV: 66% in 1986; 95% in 1997
• Women aged 18-19 whose partners used condoms: 6% in 1986; 22% in 1993.
while i think that service provision is an obvious entrypoint for lots of people seeking information as well as health services to get the resources they need to make more informed choices, it is definitely interesting that this study decided that these statistical shifts can be attributed to PSAs.
do all of us in this class know that AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) used to be called GRID (gay related immune deficiency)? are all of us familiar with the anti-stigma campaign launched out of ontario in 2008 due to the terrifying legal precedents set by the canadian judicial system? (canada is a world leader when it comes to criminalizing HIV non-disclosure, which means we have the largest number of cases in the world in which seropositive people choosing to have sex without telling their partner their serostatus have been sentenced to jail time under such descriptions as 'assault with a deadly weapon,' *regardless of whether the HIV- partner became infected*).
do all of us know that, when it comes to HIV, apparently fear-based PSAs don't work? http://www.ickaprick.com/2008/11/fear-based-aids-messages-backfire-says.html
here are two youtube videos about HIV prevention, one from 1987 called the grim reaper, and a redux from 2007 called the glam reaper. first of all, the juxtaposition is like this: australian public health services decided to redo a previous campaign which was largely met with anger, grief, and fingerpointing, and made it fabulous so that it could have resonance and convey a message of hope. secondly, it's hilarious in its 2007 reincarnation, and definitely maximizes the queer campy trope that modern queers hear as being interpellative of our own homo communities, ie us addressing one another.
GRIM REAPER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U219eUIZ7Qo
GLAM REAPER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NZ8eJuPPaU
lastly, a quick google search shows that, according to a 2004 academic study (http://www.nice.org.uk/aboutnice/whoweare/aboutthehda/hdapublications/effectiveness_of_public_health_campaigns_choosing_health_briefing.jsp), apparently there is renewed interest in public service campaigns, partly due to the fact that "behaviourally based interventions can be significantly more cost-effective than traditional service delivery." the interesting part though, is that this study attributes mass media public health campaigns with the following broad population changes:
HIV/AIDS
• Changes in levels of tolerance: those in the general public who say that homosexual relations are always or
mostly wrong - 74% in 1987; 44% in 1997
• Attitudes to people with HIV infection: those who think people with AIDS have only themselves to blame
- 57% in 1987; 36% in 1996
• Belief that a condom protects against HIV: 66% in 1986; 95% in 1997
• Women aged 18-19 whose partners used condoms: 6% in 1986; 22% in 1993.
while i think that service provision is an obvious entrypoint for lots of people seeking information as well as health services to get the resources they need to make more informed choices, it is definitely interesting that this study decided that these statistical shifts can be attributed to PSAs.