An Exploratory Content Analysis of the Use of Health Communication Strategies and Presence of Objectification in Fitness Influencer Social Media Posts.

Health and fitness content intended to inspire people to live healthy lives (e.g. "fitspiration") has been linked to negative body image among girls and young women. Fitness influencers purport wanting to motivate healthy behaviors. This study seeks to examine the presence of strategies known to positively influence health behaviors (e.g. attitudes, self-efficacy) as well as of content known to have a negative influence (e.g. objectification) among fitness influencers. We conducted a content analysis (N = 441) of a random sample of one year of posts from four Instagram fitness influencers popular with girls and young women in the United States. The main analysis consisted of codes related to objectification, health promotion strategies, health-related content, and social engagement (i.e., likes). We found that fitness influencers included content that conveyed constructs previously found to positively influence health behaviors (e.g., attitudes and self-efficacy), but objectification was frequently present, in more than half of the posts. Additionally, we found that the presence of objectification in posts was negatively associated with likes, a form of social endorsement. We suggest health communicators aim to work in tandem with fitness influencers to include content that may motivate positive health behaviors and improve media literacy and that influencers aim to reduce the amount of objectifying content included in their posts. Our findings shed light on content being conveyed and possible insights into the negative effects associated with viewing such content.

Patient and Health Care Worker Perceptions of Communication and Ability to Identify Emotion When Wearing Standard and Transparent Masks.

Importance: Adoption of mask wearing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic alters daily communication. Objective: To assess communication barriers associated with mask wearing in patient-clinician interactions and individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing. Design, Setting, and Participants: This pilot cross-sectional survey study included the general population, health care workers, and health care workers who are deaf or hard of hearing in the United States. Volunteers were sampled via an opt-in survey panel and nonrandomized convenience sampling. The general population survey was conducted between January 5 and January 8, 2021. The health care worker surveys were conducted between December 3, 2020, and January 3, 2021. Respondents viewed 2 short videos of a study author wearing both a standard and transparent N95 mask and answered questions regarding mask use, communication, preference, and fit. Surveys took 15 to 20 minutes to complete. Main Outcomes and Measures: Participants' perceptions were assessed surrounding the use of both mask types related to communication and the ability to express emotions. Results: The national survey consisted of 1000 participants (mean [SD] age, 48.7 [18.5] years; 496 [49.6%] women) with a response rate of 92.25%. The survey of general health care workers consisted of 123 participants (mean [SD] age, 49.5 [9.0] years; 84 [68.3%] women), with a response rate of 11.14%. The survey of health care workers who are deaf or hard of hearing consisted of 45 participants (mean [SD] age, 54.5 [9.0] years; 30 [66.7%] women) with a response rate of 23.95%. After viewing a video demonstrating a study author wearing a transparent N95 mask, 781 (78.1%) in the general population, 109 general health care workers (88.6%), and 38 health care workers who are deaf or hard of hearing (84.4%) were able to identify the emotion being expressed, in contrast with 201 (20.1%), 25 (20.5%), and 11 (24.4%) for the standard opaque N95 mask. In the general population, 450 (45.0%) felt positively about interacting with a health care worker wearing a transparent mask; 76 general health care workers (61.8%) and 37 health care workers who are deaf or hard of hearing (82.2%) felt positively about wearing a transparent mask to communicate with patients. Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this study suggest that transparent masks could help improve communication during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Learners in Emergency Medicine.

Approximately 23% of Americans over age 12 have some level of hearing loss.1 Emergency departments can reduce healthcare barriers for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHoH) patients through improved patient-physician communication. DHoH students, once they become physicians, may provide one mechanism for reducing existing healthcare disparities and communication barriers for DHoH patients, and may be more adept with patients facing other communication barriers. A renewed interest in disability access and a commitment to social justice has increased efforts toward the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in medical education and training. Despite this increased interest and a growing number of DHoH students entering medical education, DHoH students continue to be dissuaded from specialty careers such as emergency medicine (EM) over concerns regarding effective communication and ability. Given the academic medicine communities' commitment to diversity, a recounting of the successful inclusion of DHoH students in EM can benefit medical education and practice. In this account, the authors reflect on the successful experiences of a visiting DHoH medical student in an academic EM rotation at a Level I trauma hospital that serves a diverse population, and they identify the potential challenges for DHoH students in an EM setting, offer solutions including reasonable accommodations, and provide commentary on the legal requirements for providing full and equal access for DHoH students. We secured permission from the student to share the contents of this article prior to publication.