By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    How to Measure Adult Diapers- The Ultimate Guide to Picking the Right Size
    March 8, 2022
    medicine cabinet
    The Effect Of Finished Dosage Form Manufacturing In New Drugs
    July 5, 2022
    Improved Digestion
    Five tips to boost digestion and metabolism
    November 4, 2022
    Latest News
    3 Ways To Deal With Health Issues In Cities With High Pollution
    March 22, 2023
    What Tools Should Your Caregiver Have?
    March 22, 2023
    How to Combat Home Sickness After Moving Abroad
    March 19, 2023
    4 Ways to Recover from a Broken Hip
    March 14, 2023
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Population Health Management: Revolutionizing Health Care Service Delivery
    March 4, 2012
    Upcoding
    April 19, 2011
    How to Deal With Online Patient Complaints
    March 19, 2012
    Latest News
    What Are Bioidentical Hormones Made With?
    March 23, 2023
    Cover Medical Costs of Child Dog Bites with Legal Specialists
    March 23, 2023
    3 Ways to Improve the U.S. Healthcare System By 2030
    March 14, 2023
    6 Steps To Ensure Speed And Efficiency Of Clinical Studies
    March 14, 2023
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Day One at the Association of Healthcare Journalists Conference in Boston
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Latest News
The Best Natural Sleep Remedies & Aids
The Best Natural Sleep Remedies & Aids
Wellness
Bioidentical Hormones
What Are Bioidentical Hormones Made With?
Medical Education
chemical peels for skin disorders
Chemical Peels Can Do Wonders for Treating Skin Disorders
Skin
health benefits of lip enhancements
Cleveland Clinic Cites Health Benefits of Lip Enhancements
lifestyle
child dog bite lawyer
Cover Medical Costs of Child Dog Bites with Legal Specialists
News
Aa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Aa
Search
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > News > Day One at the Association of Healthcare Journalists Conference in Boston
News

Day One at the Association of Healthcare Journalists Conference in Boston

Liz Seegert
Last updated: 2013/03/16 at 8:00 AM
Liz Seegert
Share
3 Min Read
Image
SHARE

ImageDay One at the Association of Healthcare Journalists conference in Boston and I already feel like a better journalist. Today focused in part on skepticism.

ImageDay One at the Association of Healthcare Journalists conference in Boston and I already feel like a better journalist. Today focused in part on skepticism.

This morning, Marshall Allen of ProPublica helped us make more sense of hospital ratings. When an organization or facility pronounces a “tops in…” or “ranked one of the best in…” stop and ask — how was the data gathered? What are the comparison parameters? Who did the survey? Is it based on anything beyond opinion? Can it be quantified? Or for that matter, even verified? Are they presenting absolute or relative data? Or using a little of each when it suits the promotional purposes?

Then, Ivan Oransky of Reuters Health News and RetractionWatch.com, and Gary Schwitzer, who runs HealthNewsReview.org walked us through how to really understand clinical studies.

More Read

everest healthcare

The Everest Foundation’s Mission to Support Inclusive Healthcare

People with Disabilities Can Access SIL Funding with the NDIS
8 Reasons You Need an Injury Lawyer to Help with Medical Bills
What is The Difference Between Bio Identical Hormones and HRT?
4 Advances In Wound Care Treatment

Journalists need to look at basic criteria – whether it was a human or animal study, the size of the cohort, how the stats are presented (absolute vs. relative again), whether it was observational, or self-reported data, or whether the math actually adds up.

Also, make sure comparisons are apples to apples: for example, Ivan discussed a recent study citing a statistical association of coffee drinking with cancer. The study compared a group of hospitalized pancreatic cancer patients that happened to be coffee drinkers with a “control” group of non-coffee drinking patients hospitalized for non-cancerous digestive problems. Pancreatic cancer patients may be coffee drinkers, however, those with other disorders may not drink coffee because of their other health problems (like stomach irritation) or other reasons; so if the control group did not have cancer and happened to not drink coffee, is there really a link? It’s not really a valid comparison.

Of course, various reporting basics were also emphasized, such as getting comments from experts other than study authors, being wary about outlier claims, not writing about early phase trial drugs as if FDA approval was assured, and making sure to obtain a full copy of the study, not just basing information on the abstract.

Lastly, make sure you understand the scientific jargon so you can simplify it for readers. If you’re not sure, ask. Even if you think it’s a dumb question. Because if you don’t understand the information, chances are good that your readers won’t either.

Our job as health journalists is to make sense of clinical studies for our readers and help them to understand what it means in the context of their lives. The first step is to make sure we understand it ourselves.

Today, a hundred or more journalists learned how.

TAGGED: health care journalism

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Liz Seegert March 16, 2013
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
Share
Previous Article healthcare social media Does FTC Social Media Guidance Provide Clues for Pharma?
Next Article Image IRS Facing a Lawsuit over HIPAA Violations

Stay Connected

1.5k Followers Like
4.5k Followers Follow
2.8k Followers Pin
136k Subscribers Subscribe

Latest News

The Best Natural Sleep Remedies & Aids
The Best Natural Sleep Remedies & Aids
Wellness March 23, 2023
Bioidentical Hormones
What Are Bioidentical Hormones Made With?
Medical Education March 23, 2023
chemical peels for skin disorders
Chemical Peels Can Do Wonders for Treating Skin Disorders
Skin March 23, 2023
health benefits of lip enhancements
Cleveland Clinic Cites Health Benefits of Lip Enhancements
lifestyle March 23, 2023

You Might also Like

health issues for office workers
News

Biggest Health Issues Office Workers Need to Content With

March 22, 2023
hair transplants for cancer patients
News

Why Reputable Hair Transplant Clinics Can Help Cancer Patients

March 21, 2023
combat home sickness
HealthNews

How to Combat Home Sickness After Moving Abroad

March 19, 2023
health and legal risks of living in car
News

The Health and Legal Risks of Living in Your Vehicle

March 2, 2023
//

We influence million of users and is the most authentic source of information on healthcare business and technology news.

Quick Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Follow US

© 2008-2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?