Nurses’ use of the media to provide public health information during a hepatitis A outbreak
Article Outline
IT WAS FRIDAY AFTERNOON, and, although we were still in our offices at Robert Morris University, thoughts drifted to plans for the upcoming weekend. And then, the long shadow of Mark Weinstein, our public relations director, appeared in the hallway. Now, the fact that he did not call but came to our offices clearly indicated to us that he had something important to talk about. We were not wrong. A local television station was looking for health care experts who would be willing to answer questions this evening on a live call-in talk show about the recent local hepatitis A outbreak. Hepatitis A had been contracted by hundreds of patrons at a popular chain restaurant in a local mall. It had served thousands of people over the several weeks before the outbreak. This hepatitis A outbreak turned out to be the largest ever in the United States. Therefore, many people were rushing to receive immunoglobulin injections to prevent contracting the disease. Others, with symptoms, were seeking advice for protecting family members. There was much confusion about basic issues of transmission, risk, and prevention.
We were motivated to respond to the request for information for several reasons. Most importantly, as nurses, one of our key functions is to provide current and accurate health care information to the public, but we are often invisible in the media. Therefore, we were intrigued by the opportunity. Also, we were just starting a new nursing program, so the exposure would be wonderful. But on live television, answering questions from callers? Were we prepared for a challenge that big? We thought about our backgrounds, which included community health, maternal/child health, and critical care, and decided that we could provide this type of basic health care information. Sure, we could do it. Then we thought about adding a science colleague and walked down the hall to ask Maria Kalevitch, the head of our science department and a microbiologist, about her understanding of the hepatitis A virus. After a short discussion, she agreed to join us. Perfect! The three of us would comprise a panel to address hepatitis A questions.
Media experience
Thus began our new nursing program’s experience as media health care experts. Although we all knew basic information about hepatitis A, we spent the rest of the afternoon collecting current information from reputable sources such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other Web sites. We called local experts (lab directors, public health providers) and set out for the station.
The television station manager asked us to be at the station at 4:30 pm. However, the program was not set to air until 6:30 pm. For the next 2 hours, we didn’t just tour the station. Because many questions had been submitted by e-mail, we asked if it would be possible to use computers with Internet access to continue our research for the show. Yes, it was possible, and soon we were sitting at the anchors’ computers as they did the 5:00 PM news. Another on-camera personality provided invaluable technical advice regarding placement of microphones and earpieces. She was funny and calming and made us feel very comfortable in the station. Very quickly, it was time to move to the set. With earpieces in place, we were ready. “Where’s my camera?”
Amazingly, once we started answering questions, the time flew by. The anchor expertly guided callers’ questions and expanded on important points. Clearly, the callers were distressed and fearful about how to protect themselves and their loved ones. We gave short, direct answers, learning to look into the camera with the light on. After the program, we were relieved but pleased at our opportunity to provide important health care guidance and present ourselves as nurses with credible information for the public.
We left the studio, satisfied with our efforts to inform the public about hepatitis A. Little did we know we had just begun. The next day, Saturday, a call came from our public relations director, and it wasn’t to congratulate us on the previous day’s performance—he made that congratulatory call shortly after Friday’s telecast. The television station was receiving many more questions and wanted us to return to the station to answer some of them on the air. We agreed to return. Knowing what to expect made the second time on-camera much easier. The anchor read questions to us that we had reviewed before the broadcast. She, too, was very easy to work with. She asked us several questions off the air as well, to expand her understanding of the disease. After the live broadcast, we taped a short segment to be used for the late Saturday and early Sunday news: answering e-mail questions from listeners. We continued to answer questions for the next 2 weeks—even when vacationing in other cities and states—by responding to the station by e-mail. Our answers were read on the air, and we were identified as either the health care or the medical experts from Robert Morris University. We were surprised to learn that most lay people do not see a difference between medical and nursing experts: the terms were used interchangeably, even though we clearly stated that we were nurses.
Questions posed were somewhat expected and focused mostly on risk and guidance for protection. They included the following:
Our final public appearance was at a press conference and live cable talk show in the mall next to the restaurant where the people had been exposed to hepatitis A. Although the restaurant was closed, many businesses were suffering because people were afraid to eat or even shop in the mall. Many local politicians and mall officials, as well as the Pennsylvania deputy director of health, spoke, but most of the time was devoted to answering questions from the people gathered in the mall. Again, as nurses, we responded to questions, and much of the information we presented was related to the incubation period, signs and symptoms, actions to take if symptoms occurred, handwashing guidelines, and actions to protect children. After the press conference, many people gathered at the end of the stage to ask us more questions.
Lessons learned
Our success in getting an opportunity to provide health care information occurred for two reasons. First, our public relations director had a good reputation and was contacted by the television station personnel. Second, we responded quickly on short notice on a Friday afternoon.
Our success in presenting ourselves as credible health care sources was, in part, due to our presentation of current, accurate information. We followed the guidelines in Meet the Media…and Succeed: A Guide for Nurse Educators, an American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2000) publication on media interviewing. Some of these recommendations include:
In retrospect, it was a great opportunity, not only for the university and the nursing program, but also for us as nurses in general. We promoted the role of nursing in providing information for an evolving public health concern using a very powerful media tool—television.
Acknowledgements
We thank David Johnson and Stacia Erdos, anchors on WPXI; Gina Redman, former anchor on WPXI; Mark D. Weinstein, Director of Public Relations, Robert Morris University; Maria Kalevitch, PhD, Head of the Department of Science, Robert Morris University.
References
PII: S8755-7223(04)00020-1
doi:10.1016/j.profnurs.2004.02.003
© 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
