Transcript Document
Using the Internet to Aid in Health Reporting Barbara Gastel, MD, MPH Texas A&M University Health Reporting Workshop for Health Professionals and Journalists Accra, Ghana, November 2011 Welcome! Some Notes on My Presentations • Starting points for discussion • Intended to be interactive—so please share your knowledge, ask questions, and so forth • Reflect a largely US perspective; please adapt the content to suit the situation in Ghana Overview • Common applications of the Internet in health reporting: World Wide Web, e-mail • Guidelines: using the Web in gathering information for health stories • Some websites providing useful information on health topics • Some other helpful websites for health reporters • Tips for using e-mail effectively Guidelines: Using the Web to Gather Information on Health Topics • In general, use only websites from reputable sources (for example, government health agencies, health-related NGOs, professional associations, major hospitals and clinics, universities). • Be aware that some groups with biased websites have names similar to those of reputable sources. • Especially if a site is questionable, check material for consistency with that from reputable sources. Guidelines (continued) • Check the date of the material. • Look for visual as well as written materials. But be aware of permission requirements and copyright issues. • Beware of cutting and pasting. • Do not limit yourself to what is on the Web. Also consult other materials and do interviews. Some Websites Leading to Good Information on Many Health Topics • MedlinePlus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/) – From the US National Institutes of Health – Has links to high-quality materials from many sources – Includes a medical dictionary • CAPHIS Top 100 List: Health Websites You Can Trust (http://www.caphis.mlanet.org/consumer/) – Sites recommended by the Medical Library Association • World Health Organization Website (http://www.who.int/en/, http://www.who.int/fr/index.html, etc) Some Websites Leading to Good Information on Many Health Topics (cont) • The Merck Manuals (http://www.merckmanuals.com/) – Information on human and veterinary medicine • EurekAlert! (http://www.eurekalert.org/ ) – Links to news releases from many institutions • PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/) – For identifying articles that have been published in journals • Websites of medical journals – Some include openly accessible articles – Some have material for the media or the public Some Other Entities with Websites Helpful in Health Reporting • Some Health-Related Associations • Associations for Health Reporters or Science Reporters – Association of Health Care Journalists (http://www.healthjournalism.org/) – National Association of Science Writers (http://www.nasw.org/) – Relevant Associations in Africa • AuthorAID (http://www.authoraid.info/) • Other • (Note: Health professionals may find it useful to suggest to reporters some of the sites mentioned.) Tips for Using E-Mail Effectively • As a journalist, use e-mail to schedule interviews, request materials, make brief inquiries, etc. In general, do not do major interviews by e-mail. • As a health professional, use e-mail especially to provide background information before interviews. • Use the BCC feature if it is inappropriate or irrelevant for recipients to know one another’s identities. Using E-Mail Effectively (cont) • Use an informative subject line. • For readability, keep paragraphs short. • If items are lengthy, generally provide them as attachments. • Remember that e-mail isn’t private. • Other Discussion Thank you!