Getting HIV Message Across on TV

With so many successful health shows on US television, medical consultants have been in high demand to ensure that programs such as "ER," "CSI," and "Scrubs" portray medicine and the sciences accurately. Government officials are encouraging scriptwriters in that endeavor, even sending federal health experts to Hollywood to educate producers on everything from AIDS to alcoholism.

Accuracy is important since people tend to believe what they see on TV. In a 2001 survey of 3,719 Americans, more than half said they "learned something" about a disease or how to prevent it from a TV show.

"Research shows that people pay attention to health information in TV story lines, and they even take action sometimes," phoning their doctor to discuss similar symptoms they've experienced, said Vicki Beck, director of Hollywood, Health & Society, a joint project of the CDC, National Cancer Institute, the University of Southern California's Norman Lear Center and others.

Last month, CDC epidemiologist Dr. John T. Brooks went to Los Angeles to brief the producers of three TV programs about HIV/AIDS. Revealing which shows might spoil the plot lines, he said, declining to name them. If the shows broadcast misinformation about how HIV spreads, the public could grow fearful and years of work by health educators could be wasted, Brooks said. "Sometimes getting a message into a show… can be as effective as a very expensive ad campaign," he said.

Back to other news for September 23, 2005