Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Diagnosis Blog: Checking Up On Health Blogs Inthe Blogosphere, Edward Alan Miller, Antoinette Pole

Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Objectives. We analyzed the content and characteristics of influential health blogs and bloggers to provide a more thorough understanding of the health blogosphere than was previously available.

Methods. We identified, through a purposive–snowball approach, 951 health blogs in 2007 and 2008. All blogs were US focused and updated regularly. We described their features, topics, perspectives, and blogger demographics.

Results. Approximately half of the bloggers in our sample were employed in the health field. A majority were female, aged in their 30s, and highly educated. Two thirds posted at least weekly; one quarter accepted advertisements. Most blogs were established after …

Social Marketing, Stages Of Change, And Public Health Smoking Interventions, Paula Diehr

Paula Diehr

As a "thought experiment," the authors used a modified stages of change model for smoking to define homogeneous segments within various hypothetical populations. The authors then estimated the population effect of public health interventions that targeted the different segments. Under most assumptions, interventions that emphasized primary and secondary prevention, by targeting the Never Smoker, Maintenance, or Action segments, resulted in the highest nonsmoking life expectancy. This result is consistent with both social marketing and public health principles. Although the best thing for an individual smoker is to stop smoking, the greatest public health benefit is achieved by interventions that target …

Using The Commons To Facilitate Health Communication, Anna Liebzeit, Karen Adams, Mat Jakobi

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.