The NBC drama Friday Night Lights received first place in the primetime drama category of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center's Sentinel for Health Awards for a storyline about emotional parent-child interactions when a mother learns her teen daughter plans to have sex for the first time. The ABC drama Grey's Anatomy took first place for a primetime minor storyline on breast cancer in a nursing mother, and NBC's Scrubs took first place in primetime comedy for a storyline about postpartum depression. The ABC soap opera General Hospital took first place in daytime drama for a storyline about HIV exposure from a needle stick in a major character. TeleFutura took home its first Sentinel Award, in the Spanish language telenovela category, for Con Dominio Total. The storyline from As' es la Vida discussed issues of safe sex in a variety of characters. Veterans' health, dementia, diabetes, lung cancer and organ donation transplantation were some of the topics tackled in other storylines that were recognized.
Contaminants in the air and water are taking a toll on the health of Americans. But how bad is it really? On this panel, environmental health experts spoke about growing rates of asthma, cancer and other diseases that affect millions of Americans on a daily basis. Experts further exposed the burden environmental toxins place on the health care system, and the quality of life that we enjoy. People who have faced environmental exposures that have changed their lives shared their personal stories. Experts proposed measures that individuals, communities and private industry can take to prevent environmental disease.
At the Games for Health Annual Conference, Hollywood, Health & Society Director Vicki Beck discussed expanding/adapting the HH&S model to serve as a resource to the gaming Industry. The Serious Games Initiative founded Games for Health to develop a community and best-practices platform for the numerous games being built for health care applications. To date the project has brought together researchers, medical professionals, and game developers to share information about the impact games and game technologies can have on health care and policy.
The 2006 Everett M. Rogers Award for Achievement in Entertainment Education was awarded to E-E pioneer Miguel Sabido on Sept. 27, 2006. Sabido has worked as a producer, scriptwriter, playwright and director in theater, radio and TV. He has produced telenovelas that have resulted in health and social change in Mexico where the programs were broadcast, particularly Ven Conmigo, which encouraged nearly a million adults to go back to school. Geoffrey Cowan, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication, noted that Sabido also worked extensively with Rogers to launch development communications programs that have "changed the world—from Mexico, to India, to the Philippines and beyond." Read the press release
The CBS primetime drama Numb3rs received first place in the primetime drama category for "Harvest," a storyline about the critical issue of organ supply for transplantation; ABC's Grey's Anatomy took home second and third place honors in the same category for storylines about organ transplantation, and the decisions patients face with genetic testing for cancer risk. The CBS soap opera As the World Turns took first place in daytime drama for a storyline about breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in a major character. The NBC drama ER took first place for primetime minor storyline with "BRCA Breast Cancer Risks," and ABC's George Lopez took first place in primetime comedy for a storyline about preventing kidney disease, "The Kidney Stays in the Picture." Telemundo took home its second Sentinel Award, in the Spanish-language telenovela category, for "Don Pedro's Diabetes." The storyline from Amarte As? illustrated a major character's struggle to manage his diet, weight and medication to control his diabetes.
Hollywood, Health & Society director Vicki Beck gave a presentation and spoke on a panel at the 2006 Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) Midyear Scientific Conference. The overall theme of the conference was Betting on Health Education: Increasing the Odds for Collaboration. It drew several hundred academics, researchers, and practitioners from across the country and in particular from the western region of the United States. The topic of her panel was Health Communication and Health Literacy in a Changing World. Panel members included Jay Bernhardt, CDC's National Health Marketing Center, and Kelley Chunn of Kelley Chunn and Associates. SOPHE, which is made up of health education professionals and students, promotes healthy behavior, communities and environments.
Does your zip code or skin color make a difference in the cause of death on your death certificate? What other factors might play a role in your risk of death—by a gun, a virus or a cancer? Why certain groups in the United States are at much higher risk of death from suicide, homicide, cancer and AIDS, even when they know about their increased vulnerability.
Hollywood, Health and Society director Vicki Beck gave a presentation and joined a panel discussion entitled Marketing Communication Strategies: Promoting Healthful Products and Physical Activitiy Opportunitites at the Institute of Medicine Symposium.
Hollywood, Health & Society director Vicki Beck joined a panel discussion titled How Entertainment Is Being Used to Deal with Social and Health Issues Around the World at PCI's 2005 Entertainment Summit. The summit seeks to increase resources for programs designed to improve women’s health and status, HIV/AIDS awareness, and other health and social issues by harnessing the power of entertainment. PCI provides technical assistance, research and training consultation to governments, NGOs and foundations on a wide range of social marketing and communications initiatives.
In 2005, the Sentinel for Health Awards program added the Spanish-language telenovela category. The CBS drama Without a Trace won first place in prime time drama for an autism storyline, "Volcano" and the ABC soap opera All My Children received first place for its "Autism Spectrum Disorder Storyline." The WB drama 7th Heaven took first place for primetime minor storyline with "Leaps of Faith," a storyline about sickle cell anemia. ABC's The George Lopez Show received first place in primetime comedy for a storyline on teen sex, "Prescription for Trouble." The Telemundo show Anita, no te rajes took first place in the new Spanish-language telenovela category for "Graciela Refuses to Have Cancer," a storyline about breast cancer.
