Gellert G A, Higgins K V, Farley W, Lowery R
Project HOPE Health Sciences Education Center, Millwood, VA 22646.
Public Health Rep. 1994 Mar-Apr;109(2):284-9.
Increasingly, public health interventions are dependent on effective health communications. There are, however, few data examining the relationship and interactions between local public health officers and representatives of the media in the literature. This study sought to collect data on the quality and quantity of interactions between California's 62 local health officers and the media. A survey form was sent to the health officers representing all 58 county and four city health departments in the State of California to assess the extent of media interaction, the existence of institutional media policies, the professional and personal character of media relations, the perceived accuracy of media reporting, use of the media for health education and advocacy, the availability of training in media relations for staff members, and whether media interaction facilitated or impeded achievement of public health objectives. Differences in responses according to the population of the political jurisdiction also were assessed. With 87 percent of the health officers responding, 51 percent reported 10 years or more experience interacting with the media; 65 percent said they dealt with the print media mostly on a daily, twice weekly, or weekly basis. In only 19 jurisdictions were there written policies on media relations, but in 43, media releases undergo a pre-release review. Most health officers characterized media relations as reactive, and 80 percent said they were appropriate and had an educational impact. Media interactions were largely believed to be of benefit to the public and were not generally perceived as adversarial. Health officers were of the opinion that media representatives could become more technically and scientifically knowledgeable on public health issues but also indicated that they or their own public health staff would benefit from continuing education on managing media relations. Eighty-six percent stated that the media strongly or moderately facilitate the achievement of public health objectives. Further study of this important component of public health practice is warranted.
公共卫生干预措施越来越依赖有效的健康传播。然而，文献中很少有数据研究地方公共卫生官员与媒体代表之间的关系及互动。本研究旨在收集加利福尼亚州62名地方卫生官员与媒体之间互动的质量和数量数据。一份调查问卷被发送给代表加利福尼亚州所有58个县和4个市卫生部门的卫生官员，以评估媒体互动的程度、机构媒体政策的存在情况、媒体关系的专业和个人特点、对媒体报道准确性的认知、利用媒体进行健康教育和宣传的情况、工作人员接受媒体关系培训的可得性，以及媒体互动是促进还是阻碍了公共卫生目标的实现。还评估了根据政治辖区人口划分的不同回应差异。87%的卫生官员做出了回应，51%的人报告与媒体互动有10年或更长时间的经验；65%的人表示他们主要每天、每周两次或每周与平面媒体打交道。只有19个辖区有关于媒体关系的书面政策，但在43个辖区，新闻稿会进行发布前审查。大多数卫生官员将媒体关系描述为被动反应型，80%的人表示这些关系是恰当的且具有教育影响。媒体互动在很大程度上被认为对公众有益，一般不被视为具有对抗性。卫生官员认为媒体代表在公共卫生问题上可以在技术和科学方面变得更有见识，但也指出他们自己或其公共卫生工作人员将从媒体关系管理的继续教育中受益。86%的人表示媒体强烈或适度促进了公共卫生目标的实现。对公共卫生实践的这一重要组成部分进行进一步研究是有必要的。
