Standard Blog - HealthCetera

This is a guest post by Linda Kamateh who is a recent graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse Executive Master’s in Communications Management Program and a Senior Media Associate at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

I just completed my graduate studies at Syracuse University’s Newhouse Executive Master’s in Communications Management Program. I’ve spent the last year reading lengthy research studies and interviewing health care public relations professionals for my capstone on this topic. From this extensive research, I’ve compiled a list of the Seven Must Haves to launch a social media health campaign.

Engagement with your audience is key and I discovered that while most of the communicators I spoke with use social media to post materials they are unclear or unable to use these mediums to engage with their audiences. The unique benefit of using social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook is audience engagement.

Below are seven concepts that health care communicators should consider when developing social media campaigns or integrating social media into an existing mass media outreach effort to maximize engagement.

Policy

Roe v. Wade is 40 – How far have we really come?

January 22, 2013

author: Editorial Staff

2 Comments

It’s been 40 years since the Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision affirmed the right of women to decide the issue of abortion for themselves. By invalidating restrictive state laws, the Court held that reproductive rights — at least during the first trimester of pregnancy — were a given under the Constitution. Wholesale bans and unreasonable restrictions on the procedure by states were in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and a woman’s right to privacy.

The decision spawned a national debate about choice, government intrusion into personal lives, religion, ethics, and politics. It’s been a hot topic in every presidential race, many state and local contests, and has sharply divided this country into “pro-life” and “pro-choice” camps. The two movements are no closer to consensus in 2013 then they were in 1973.

If anything, the vitriol has become more intense and ugly. Medical professionals have been shot. Clinics bombed. Threats, violence, and vandalism common among some extremists. A few months ago, then-Rep.Todd Aiken’s ridiculous remarks about rape and pregnancy set off a firestorm in the state of Missouri, the nation, and unintentionally helped several Democratic candidates in their respective races.

Many in the Republican party vow to pass legislation repealing Roe v Wade. The issue of [mostly] Republican, white males, who never have and of course never will become pregnant, telling women what they can or can’t do with their bodies might be humorous, if there wasn’t so much at stake. Unfortunately, some of them are doing a two-step around the law.

Texas recently defunded Planned Parenthood, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible for mostly poor, minority, and rural women to obtain any kind of health care – including well-women checkups and preventive screenings – let alone make a choice about pregnancy. Other states are following suit. The Guttmacher Institute developed a state-by-state breakdown of abortion laws and their major provisions. None seem as invasive as the new Virginia law requiring a vaginal ultrasound for every woman undergoing an abortion prior to the procedure. It may be the ultimate invasion of privacy.