Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior and Office for the Study of Aging, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 915 Greene Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.
J Cancer Educ. 2022 Aug;37(4):1261-1263. doi: 10.1007/s13187-022-02175-7. Epub 2022 Apr 30.
I have always been interested in health information-what it is, where people get it, how they interpret it, talk about it with others, and use it-if at all. It has been overwhelming to stay abreast of the evolving science during the COVID-19 global pandemic when it is often quite complicated in nature and when we are exposed to individuals' and group's spreading of misinformation and disinformation. During this pandemic, I have been reflecting a lot on my childhood during which my mother was suffering with cancer and frustrated and confused about the information she received regarding her diagnosis and treatment plan. This is not the kind of journal article I am used to writing and these are probably the most difficult few pages I have ever drafted. My observations during COVID-19 led me to want to share the aspects of my mother's situation that motivate me and guide my work in cancer education with a focus on health literacy and communication. This piece describes my mother's experiences with illness and medical information in her own words. It is brief and personal and reminds me clearly why I chose this field and why it is important now more than ever for cancer educators to focus our efforts on communication.
我一直对健康信息感兴趣——它是什么，人们从哪里获取它，他们如何与他人解释、讨论并使用它（如果有的话）。在 COVID-19 全球大流行期间，要跟上不断发展的科学步伐是非常困难的，因为它的本质往往非常复杂，而且我们会接触到个人和群体传播的错误信息和虚假信息。在这场大流行期间，我一直在反思我的童年，当时我母亲身患癌症，她对自己的诊断和治疗计划所收到的信息感到沮丧和困惑。这不是我习惯写的那种期刊文章，这可能是我写过的最难的几页。我在 COVID-19 期间的观察促使我想分享我母亲的一些情况，这些情况激励着我，并指导我在癌症教育方面的工作，重点是健康素养和沟通。这篇文章用我母亲自己的话描述了她的疾病和医疗信息的经历。它简短而个人化，让我清楚地记得为什么我选择了这个领域，以及为什么现在对癌症教育工作者来说，把我们的努力集中在沟通上是如此重要。
