Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education
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The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (Gardasil) is a significant advancement in reducing women's risk for cervical cancer. Public opinion of the vaccine can be influenced by the mass media. We used content analysis to assess the discussion of risks, fear-inducing messages about HPV, cervical cancer, and the HPV vaccine in four high circulating North American news magazines from January 2006 to December 2007. ⋯ Reporting on the HPV vaccine emphasized it being poorly understood by science. News magazine articles on the HPV vaccine and cervical cancer included fear-inducing messages. Cancer educators need to be aware of media reporting in order to alleviate fears that the public may experience about the HPV vaccine.
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Deficiencies in palliative and end-of-life care have been well documented by the Institute of Medicine. The National Cancer Institute (NCI), in partnership with Northwestern University, developed an educational curriculum for clinicians who deal with end-of-life issues, the Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care for Oncology. A live meeting was held to distribute the curriculum to institutional leaders who could take it back to their organizations for broader distribution. ⋯ Eighty-four percent completed the post-activity evaluation survey. Satisfaction was very high among participants, and many indicated their intention to incorporate new knowledge into practice. Collaboration with a commonly used online medical education provider such as Medscape is effective at broadly disseminating palliative care education to health professionals.