How we talk about monkeypox matters Experts offer ways to reduce stigma скачать в хорошем качестве

How we talk about monkeypox matters Experts offer ways to reduce stigma

As places like San Francisco and New York state declare the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency, there's a major question: how to talk about the virus in the first place. Monkeypox, also known as hMPXV, has been spreading across the U. S. since May. As of Friday, there have been over 5,100 confirmed cases in the U. S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus causes similar symptoms to smallpox, like a rash, fever and headache. It's transmitted through close physical contact and it's rarely fatal. Although anyone can get infected, the outbreak appears to have largely affected men who have sex with other men. That's led some public health officials to question how to raise awareness about the spread without making the early public health mistakes of the HIV/AIDS crisis when gay and bisexual men were stigmatized and discriminated against. It's a tricky conversation but it matters, said Dr. Joseph Lee, a professor of health education and promotion at East Carolina University who has studied public health messaging."We need to make sure we're getting the right people involved in reaching the right communities and saying things in a way that resonates," Lee told NPR. "Because the harm of getting it wrong is real and hard to repair."Fixating on how the virus impacts different populations can be unproductive and unhelpful, Lee says. On one end, it tends to make people who are disproportionately impacted feel fatalistic and less likely to seek help, he added. On the other end, it makes those who have been less impacted inaccurately believe they are less vulnerable."You can recognize that there are differences and that's important to do, but it doesn't mean it has to be the emphasis or message of the campaign. It just tells you who the messaging needs to go to," Lee said. Overemphasis can also lead to assumptions about why the disparity exists and activate harmful stereotypes. Monkeypox isn't a sexually transmitted disease and sex is only one way that the virus can spread. Still, local public health officials have debated whether to advise gay and bisexual men in particular to abstain from sex during the current outbreak. Joaquín Carcaño, the director of community organizing at the Latino Commission on AIDS, said that guidance is not only ineffective but can pose more risk."We know abstinence-only education doesn't work for pregnancy, so why would we use it for this?" he told NPR. "When you say no sex, you're mischaracterizing that MPV, also known as monkeypox, is a sex-associated transmission, which it can be, but it's not the end all be all."Carcaño, who has been working to debunk misinformation around the virus, also worries that overstressing sex can likely make people dismiss public health guidance altogether. Instead, he recommends phrasing like, "limit physical encounters" and "limit intimate, long-session, encounters."The broader the messaging, the less likely it will resonate with all audiences, said Dr. All data is taken from the source: http://npr.org Article Link: https://www.npr.org/2022/07/31/1114670483/... #health #newsyearsday #newsworldfox #newstodayheadlines #newsworldwide #newstodayworld #