RWGNYC's Blog
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Banging Messages
Tamera R. Schneider asks her readers in her article “Getting the Biggest Bang for
Your Health Education Buck: Message Framing and Reducing Health Disparities,” while Health information has been made available everywhere, can it be presented to better promote behavior?
By framing messages in an engaging manner, they can effectively motivate health behaviors in the general population. When we look at newscasts, information can be presented with many different aspects in mind. The angle we shine light on our research finding, program, intervention, etc can greatly determine the success of its implementation. If we are skeptical from the beginning, failure will be most likely the result. If we choose the wrong angle for a target population, we build barriers; but if we get the correct angle, we will succeed.
To succeed we need to display cultural competency – know our target population and its needs- and need to stay afar from ethnocentrism; not every group or individual reacts the same way we would do. If the same message is adapted to the needs and objectives of the target population the barriers will be minimized or even broken down completely. In the best case scenario community support will actually boos the impact of our message.
The article gives us many objectives and tools to consider and to utilize. Further, we can observe how different framing approaches or the lack of framing will affect the impact of messages and ultimately the grade of change.
Tzvia Schwartz-Getzug describes in her article “Get the Message” how over exaggeration and even a healthy dosage of humor can get a message that is not primarily obvious across. The humor of finding a double chin, that no one wants in a park is funny and will stick. I will always choose humor above dry facts.
Your Health Education Buck: Message Framing and Reducing Health Disparities,” while Health information has been made available everywhere, can it be presented to better promote behavior?
By framing messages in an engaging manner, they can effectively motivate health behaviors in the general population. When we look at newscasts, information can be presented with many different aspects in mind. The angle we shine light on our research finding, program, intervention, etc can greatly determine the success of its implementation. If we are skeptical from the beginning, failure will be most likely the result. If we choose the wrong angle for a target population, we build barriers; but if we get the correct angle, we will succeed.
To succeed we need to display cultural competency – know our target population and its needs- and need to stay afar from ethnocentrism; not every group or individual reacts the same way we would do. If the same message is adapted to the needs and objectives of the target population the barriers will be minimized or even broken down completely. In the best case scenario community support will actually boos the impact of our message.
The article gives us many objectives and tools to consider and to utilize. Further, we can observe how different framing approaches or the lack of framing will affect the impact of messages and ultimately the grade of change.
Tzvia Schwartz-Getzug describes in her article “Get the Message” how over exaggeration and even a healthy dosage of humor can get a message that is not primarily obvious across. The humor of finding a double chin, that no one wants in a park is funny and will stick. I will always choose humor above dry facts.
:: posted by R. W. Graf, 8:05 AM
2 Comments:
I learned in my speaches the more I make a fool out of myself and reach positively the better my message comes across... the barriers are gone in no time.
The problem with framing is that in a subconcious way you have to explain your frame in the message, if this is not done, things can get pretty ugly.
