PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Have you ever watched a TV show like “ER” that requires a lot of medical knowledge to properly portray the story? It turned out that there is a local professor who is supporting the students.
“I love teaching and I love being in the classroom, but if you have 20 to 30 students and 4 million people watch a TV episode about a public health topic, that's literally millions of people. It’s a way to reach people,” Beth Hoffman said.
As an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, Beth Hoffman teaches a class called Entertainment and Media Health, where she shares the importance of combating public health misinformation in the media.
“I truly believe that Pitt Public Health is at the forefront of reimagining medical communication, health education, and developing the next generation of public health leaders,” Hoffman said.
In 2015, Hoffman assisted on the set of “Code Black” and gave advice on how to answer special medical questions.
“I was able to talk to some actors and hear how people message medical questions through social media,” Hoffman said.
The University of Southern California and the Hollywood Health Association regularly contact Pitt to ask questions of Hoffman and obtain findings from her research to ensure that certain issues are accurately shown on camera. .
“We conducted research in collaboration with Hollywood, Health and Society to examine the impact of the Alzheimer's story on This Is Us and found that it motivated people to discuss advanced treatment plans with their families. “We found that there is,” Hoffman said. He said.
Hoffman inspired some of her students to follow in her footsteps.
“I learned so much,” Brittney Manu said. “I've known her since third grade, and she actually inspired me to major in public health.”
“When you bring up the topic of health, Beth already knows five different instances in which she brought it up,” says Aim Sidani, Ph.D./MPH assistant professor.
Professor Hoffman hopes his students will help people find the right information on all health topics, adding: “It's much more important to have the skills to understand the media you consume.” she said.
Hoffman and the University of Pittsburgh want to continue the fight against misinformation in the media.
