On October 24, Beth Hoffman, PhD, BCHS assistant professor, and colleague, Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, attended the Sentinel Awards in Los Angeles. Hosted by Hollywood, Health & Society, a program of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center, the annual awards program recognizes television storylines that inform, educate and motivate viewers to make choices for healthier and safer lives.
Hoffman discussed her use of video and other media clips while teaching public health courses, which was well-received by the actors in attendance. She also discussed her current work examining depictions of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest on television when James Pickens Jr. (Dr. Webber on “Grey's Anatomy”) mentioned a news story about a pair of 10-year-olds who saved someone’s life after learning how to perform CPR from the show.
This year's winners included “Abbott Elementary” for its depiction of smoking and vaping and “The Morning Show” for its depiction of abortion care. Additionally, during the ceremony, actors Jason George (“Grey's Anatomy”) and Todd Grinnell (“One Day at a Time”) discussed their recent video, "Is Systemic Racism Still a Thing?"
“While the work we do teaching in the classrooms and publishing peer-reviewed studies is important, television has the potential to reach millions of people,” says Hoffman. “It is great to see popular shows such as “Hacks” and “The Morning Show” tackling important issues like the climate crisis and reproductive rights in an engaging and accessible way. I'm excited to share my experience with students in the Entertainment Media and Health course (PUBHLT 402) next semester and to keep collaborating with the Norman Lear Center!”
-Joe Barreto