The gap btw...

The best part about class this week was putting into practice the theories discussed. I had a true moment of realization when working on our campaign for teenagers and nutrition. When we were trying to figure out the details of our campaign we kept asking ourselves "what do teenagers like?" I mean it wasn't THAT long ago since I was a teenager; but there I was assuming this is what teenagers like, don't like, do or don't do. The distance between me and my target population was evident. Its the kind of gap captured in our discussion of sender driven messages (us centered) as opposed to receiver driven-where we put "them" at the center. I am intrigued at the possibility of empowering people through receiver driven messages and of doing research that puts them first and not the goals and expectations of health professionals and research sponsors.

Reflecting on "communication" & fried eggs.

I am really excited about this course because it tackles an aspect of public health that everyone can relate to. The definitions exercise stumped me for a bit and I loved it for that reason. So often we go about using terms that seem simple enough to understand but when it comes to defining them the words become so much more complex. The video tied in so well with diseminating what communication is and all the forms it can take. Watching some of the campaigns reminded me of my youth, and made me reflect on the bigger question-did they actually influence my health behavior in the long run? Or did they just confuse me- a la the fried egg representing a brain on drugs. -see you all next week.

Not a blogger...but here I am blogging.

For one of my PH courses this Spring '08 semester I am required to post blogs throughout the semester in order to share my thoughts and comments about the ongoings of the class and the material. So please bear with me as I venture into this new form of relating my thoughts and opinions. Hopefully my fingers will be able to keep up with my train of thought and you won't get lost in what can often be described as a maze of thoughts streaming from left to right, up and down, side to side.

-enjoy.