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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Salt Lake Valley Health Department has come up with a unique way to get the word out to the public on various health related issues, and some of the messages are truly out-of-the-box.
Consider this: Click on a YouTube video, and you'll see a woman sneeze into her cupped hands over her mouth. Cut to close-up of her hands, and they're covered with mud. The mud is the visual for bacteria, which then appears on door knobs and everything else she touches. Someone else, with hands full of mud, high five's a co-worker in the hallway, and the mud-as-bacteria is spread yet again.
Leave it to some 4th year University of Utah medical students to dramatically illustrate a public health issue. In another video, the message is obesity, and how Americans are 27 pounds heavier on average since 1960. How did the students illustrate that? Grabbed 27 pounds worth of Crisco, and proceeded to spead it all over a fellow student.
Jessica Greenwood, Assistant Professor of the U's School of Medicine puts it simply, "these are very entertaining!"
Since February, nearly 80 senior medical students have produced 21 videos on public health issues. The Salt Lake Valley Health Department produces web videos as well, and decided to team up with the students.
"We went and met with the students and let them know a little bit about our style and what type of videos we create and then the assignment for them was to spend 30-hours producing a video," says Vanna Livaditis, Media Coordinator with the Salt Lake Valley Health department.
The students worked in 3 to 5 member teams, writing, shooting, editing. Even acting.
"They are the stars", Professor Greenwood says. "They themselves or their family members and friends are the stars of these video productions."
The video production is part of a 4-week, required course that the students take dealing with communication. In a profession filled with technical medical "jargon", these students will ultimately work with the general public--clarity is key.
"We want our students to understand how to communicate health topics in a manner the public will understand and the importance of the topic and how to keep their health safe", Greenwood adds.
These videos help make the point. And the health department and the medical school is starting hear feedback on the program.
"We think it's kind of set us apart from other public health organizations and health departments in general," Livaditis says. "Because we find emotion through videos."
Greenwood adds, "Hopefully it will catch on and we'll have other medical schools and students all over the country doing similar types of projects."
Email: kmccord@ksl.com
