It can make more sense than ever before for people to question old scientific findings, from the safety of fluoride in water, the effectiveness of vaccines, or the importance of pasteurizing raw milk.
Trust in science has you fell early plague.
Lizzy McGrevy, Side Effects Public Media’s public engagement specialist, sat down with Health Reporter Ben Thorp to talk about how public health professionals can better explain the processes that lead to recommendations. of health?
This article has been edited for length, style and clarity.
Lizzy McGrevy: So, maybe a good way to start this is by talking about the health professionals, doctors, etc. they see when people come to visit.
Ben Thorpe: Yes, many researchers I have spoken to say that there has been an increase, even before this epidemic, of people doing their own research. People walk into a doctor’s or dentist’s office and say, “I read this study or saw these news articles and I have questions or concerns about a particular medical procedure or procedure.”
And, in some cases, the experts I spoke with say that kind of engagement is beneficial. People want to make informed decisions about their health and are taking steps to be proactive about self-awareness.
I spoke with Jennifer Reich. He is a Sociologist at the University of Colorado and the author of Calling the Guns, Why Parents Refuse Vaccines. The problem, he said, is that the way you or I research, say, what’s the best laptop to buy, doesn’t match how scientific research works on something like vaccines. .
“We collect information, we read online reviews, we talk to people we trust, and we make a rational decision, which is really different from the way researchers think about research?” he said. “Research is a long process of careful, repeatable and unintended consequences.”
McGrevy: Okay, but Ben if I want to introduce myself what should I do? Where should I look?
thorpe: Yeah, I think that’s kind of the million dollar question right now.
In most cases, the types of research that you or I can do right now on the internet may be of low quality. Acquiring studies from well-known medical journals can be expensive, and some of the more prestigious ones are behind paywalls. There are signs this can change however.
That’s kind of the first problem.
The second problem is that few people have the relationship with their primary care physician that they would I said 20, 30 years ago. So there are not always opportunities to have long discussions about research and health issues that you would like to have with a trusted professional.
What I heard from Reich is that the questions aren’t bad, but they need to be part of a broader discussion with health professionals, rather than an immediate veto.
McGrevy: So, what does this mean for communicating with the public about public health?
thorpe: Thus, the experts I spoke to say that research is full of disagreements between experts that must be handled over the course of many studies, over years and sometimes even decades. But the public may not always understand that.
I spoke with Dominique Brossard. He is the chair of the Department of Life Sciences and Communications at the University of Wisconsin Madison. He said he doesn’t really like the phrase “follow science”.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “We are following science here, what are we doing? I don’t want to follow science. You know, I want science to be part of the conversation and bring data to make the best decisions on public feeding strategies. ”
Brossard also said there is a question about who people trust to give them the right information. Trust in science has generally declined since the pandemic, but is still higher than 75%, compared to trust in government institutions.
That means that those random conversations with the local doctor are about as important to the average person as the advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
McGrevy: Ben, thanks for taking the time to talk to us.
thorpe: It’s always fun.
The Checkup by Side Effects Public Media is a regular audio segment on WFYI’s daily podcast, WFYI News Now.
Side Effects Public Media is a health reporting partnership based at WFYI in Indianapolis. We partner with NPR stations throughout the Midwest and surrounding areas – including KBIA and KCUR in Missouri, Iowa Public Radio, Ideastream in Ohio and WFPL in Kentucky.
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