Abstract: Hospitals use newsletters to reach their patient base. Within these newsletters, health narratives are communicated to inspire community members to choose that hospital for their health needs. Because health narratives inform our understanding of health care delivery, I employ Bakhtin’s (1984) ideas on monologic and dialogic discourse to analyze newsletters published by a major hospital network. Results indicate a monologic rather than dialogic discourse, which excludes patient’s unique experiences, advances normalization of medicine, and perpetuates hierarchical power dynamics. In summary, this study suggests practical implications for practitioners producing health knowledge for consumers of health information.
Bill and Melinda Gates spoke at the National Academy of Sciences, a non-profit group that has advised the nation on important scientific matters for 150 years, to urge scientists to use innovation to help the poor.
Great editorial from Philip Alberti, PhD, senior director of Health Equity Research and Policy at the Association of American Medical Colleges, on taking a variety of stakeholder input into account when conducting research. My own research confirms this same idea!
Kmart has tried over the years to give its brand a facelift. Remember the blue light special? Remember the Big K? Remember the merger with Sears? It’s all been rather unsuccessful and off the mark to this point. So I wonder if this new viral commercial, which is pretty dang hilarious and up front for the usually-sleepy Kmart, is part of a larger and longer-term change strategy and comms campaign for the chain that always comes in last when racing against Target and Walmart?
I notice the Kmart logo has been adjusted slightly although I don’t know when the adjustment took place; the last time Kmart updated its brand was in 2004 when it merged with Sears.
At any rate, here’s the ad, which goes down as one of the funniest ones I’ve seen in a long time. I can only hope it’s a signal of exciting things to come for the corporation. Enjoy!
New IOM Report: Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan: Readjustment Needs of Veterans, Service Members, and Their Families
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been the longest sustained U.S. military operations since the Vietnam era, sending more than 2.2 million troops into battle, and resulting in more than 6,600 deaths and 48,000 injuries. While many service members return home relatively unscathed and report rewarding experiences, others return with varied complex health conditions and find that readjusting to life at home, reconnecting with family, finding work, or returning to school is an ongoing struggle. The urgency to alleviate these health, economic, and social issues is heightened by the number of people affected, the rapid drawdown of military personnel from Iraq and Afghanistan, and the long-term effects for service members, veterans, their families, and the nation.
The IOM was asked to study veterans’ physical and mental health, as well as other readjustment needs. Following its phase one report, this report presents the IOM’s comprehensive assessment of the physical, psychological, social, and economic effects of deployment on service members, veterans, their families, and their communities.
