<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_7901889?source=rss">http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_7901889?source=rss</a>
I found the article when I was searching the news for "marfan" (one of my late husband's illnesses).....
The paras I found most interesting are:
"The majority of events, however, are sponsored by well-meaning health advocates and associations. Some can be quite successful, particularly if they offer free medical screenings or other services.
Others, Weiss sighs, are simply media campaigns that offer little news or help for consumers.
While television and radio programs might pick up on the disease of the week, particularly if the sponsors provide camera-ready patients, many newspapers refuse to cover them, with reporters saying they're not newsworthy, public relations industry observers say.
"If you're only going with the disease of the day to get your message out, it's not going to work," Weiss says. "These groups put so much into that one day, sometimes the resources aren't available the rest of the year."
Weiss lauds National Depression Screening Day, because mental health professionals around the country offer free evaluations for an illness estimated to affect 19 million Americans a year. The screening offers a concrete, valuable service to consumers. They clearly find it valuable: Since starting in 1991, the screening day has grown to serve about 85,000 people at 3,000 locations around the country. "
I like the idea of having some service offered during the day - rather than having the day just be for fundraising, education, news. And I do wonder about families using up so much of their emotional resources for just a single day.
I found the article when I was searching the news for "marfan" (one of my late husband's illnesses).....
The paras I found most interesting are:
"The majority of events, however, are sponsored by well-meaning health advocates and associations. Some can be quite successful, particularly if they offer free medical screenings or other services.
Others, Weiss sighs, are simply media campaigns that offer little news or help for consumers.
While television and radio programs might pick up on the disease of the week, particularly if the sponsors provide camera-ready patients, many newspapers refuse to cover them, with reporters saying they're not newsworthy, public relations industry observers say.
"If you're only going with the disease of the day to get your message out, it's not going to work," Weiss says. "These groups put so much into that one day, sometimes the resources aren't available the rest of the year."
Weiss lauds National Depression Screening Day, because mental health professionals around the country offer free evaluations for an illness estimated to affect 19 million Americans a year. The screening offers a concrete, valuable service to consumers. They clearly find it valuable: Since starting in 1991, the screening day has grown to serve about 85,000 people at 3,000 locations around the country. "
I like the idea of having some service offered during the day - rather than having the day just be for fundraising, education, news. And I do wonder about families using up so much of their emotional resources for just a single day.