Politics, Propaganda, and Public Health: A Case Study in Health Communication and Public Trust

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Politics, Propaganda, and Public Health: A Case Study in Health Communication and Public Trust takes an in-depth look at Merck Pharmaceutical's groundbreaking launch of the Gardasil vaccination and ways in which new trends in pharmaceutical marketing affect public health awareness efforts. Prior to receiving FDA approval for Gardasil, Merck built up concern around the human papillomavirus through early awareness messaging. Though Merck's approach may have promoted inoculation efforts, the company seemingly crafted a product endorsement for Gardasil through its social marketing strategy and nationwide lobbying. The question is, do the ends justify the means Crosswell and Porter use a unique combination of eye tracking data, in-depth interviews, and rhetorical analysis as they examine what happens to public trust when Big Pharma combines product marketing with awareness messaging. This book offers a platform for cross-disciplinary debate on the effects of direct-to-consumer advertising and proposes future courses of action for Big Pharma regulators and media scholars.

Reviews

This book will challenge the approach and deepen the understanding of health communication under the holistic model where politics, propaganda, and public health are connected. The chapters provide an in-depth analysis of the complexities that exist in commercial enterprise and the balance between products, profits, politics, and social benefits. The book represents an enormous step forward in commercializing social awareness and social marketing fully into the field of health communication implementation. Its insights into practice of social cognition theory in Merck's campaign are invaluable for any serious reader of behavioral economics in this contemporary society. The centrality of addressing the public trust and influence of corporate interests in campaign messages makes this publication an essential contribution to the capacity building of public health and health communication as well. -- Muhiuddin Haider, University of Maryland

Author Bio

Laura Crosswell is assistant professor of health communication at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Lance Porter is the F. Walter Lockett Distinguished Professor of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University.