'Grey's Anatomy' viewers learn without even trying

Americans love television, no doubt about it. And researchers have been monitoring just how beneficial that love can be -- at least when it comes to spreading health and medical messages. Now they have a powerful example.

Writers for the show "Grey's Anatomy," working with the Kaiser Family Foundation, wove specific and accurate information about HIV transmission into a storyline about a pregnant HIV-infected woman. The resulting episode, which aired May 1, explained via dramatic entertainment that, without treatment, the chance of transmission from an HIV-infected woman to her unborn child is 25%, but with drug therapy and high-quality medical care, the chance of transmission is 2%.

Kaiser Family Foundation researchers then conducted surveys that assessed viewers' facts and feelings about HIV-positive women who have children. The polls were conducted a week before the episode aired, during the week after the episode, and then six weeks after the episode.

They found:

* Before the show, only 15% of viewers knew that, with proper treatment, HIV-infected women are more than 90% likely to give birth to a healthy baby.

* A week after the show, 61% understood that. (Some even got the specific 98% fact right.)

* Six weeks after the show, 45% gave a proper answer -- a drop, but still significantly higher than the original.

The report, Television as a Health Educator: A Case Study of "Grey's Anatomy," was released Tuesday and crunched the various messages and effects in various ways. The conclusion says in part:

"Beyond this particular storyline, it is also of note that as many as one in six viewers of the show says that they have, at some point, sought more information about a health topic that they saw on "Grey's," or visited a doctor or other health provider about something they saw on "Grey's." Given that the show's ratings are routinely in the range of 20 million viewers, this means that more than 3 million viewers may have taken action regarding a health issue based on something they saw on the show."

A related study, also released Tuesday, by the foundation and USC researchers, analyzed all episodes of the top 10 shows of the 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasons. Examining the episodes for health content, the researchers found a whole lot of unusual illnesses, but considerably fewer episodes about conditions Americans might actually encounter. Not surprising perhaps. Blood-pressure pills and glucose testing don't usually add up to gripping television.

But the researchers seemed fairly pleased with what they saw nonetheless. In the conclusion of that report, How Healthy Is Prime Time: An Analysis of Health Content in Popular Prime Time Television Programs, they say:

"These findings demonstrate that popular prime time television conveys a substantial amount of health-related information. The majority of these portrayals show characters dealing with a wide range of health issues and receiving, for the most part, quality care from physicians with whom they have favorable interactions."

As the first report states: "For health organizations or those in the medical profession, this is a strong message that entertainment television is, for better or worse, a health educator."

The key, of course, is making it better.

Here's a glimpse into how that's done: Prime time to learn and Mental illness sans cliches, both by Times staff writer Susan Brink.

-- Tami Dennis

Photo: Using actress Katherine Heigl certainly didn't hurt the notability of the health message, the researchers acknowledge.

Credit: Bob D'Amico / ABC

Comments

[linda willis]

LOVED seeing Tyne Daly's guest appearance in the episode aired Jan.15/09. I always admired her performance as the mother/social worker in " Judging Amy" and wish she'd do more television these days. Have to say how very attractive she looks, especially with her short hair etc. Proof that older woman can still look very sexy. Great delivery of her lines as usual.
Linda