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May - June 2009 Issue
Impact of Documentary Film “Unnatural Causes” One Year Later----15,000 Screenings Have Been Held And Producers Say The General Discourse on Health Has Changed Considerably
Report Says Evidence Of Any Policy Changes Is Still Lacking
One year after the release of “Unnatural Causes”, the award winning film by California Newsreel on the role of social factors in health, more than 15,000 community dialogues, policy forums, trainings, town hall meetings, and other events designed around the screenings have been held. However, the filmmakers in a new report have been unable yet to document any particular policy outcomes traceable to the efforts of the film’s viewers or other supporters. One viewer in the report was quoted asking if the film is causing only interesting conversations without leading to meaningful change. more...
Measuring Real Impact of “Unnatural Causes” Film Is Called Difficult Or Premature
Many Effects Are Considered Indirect But Still Highly Significant
“It is hard to measure the impact of any film. Take any film, such as ‘Apocalypse Now’. How do you measure this? People are affected,” says Richard Hofrichter, Senior Associate at the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). Hofrichter was responding to a question about the impact of “Unnatural Causes”, the award winning film on the role of social factors in health, and on whether or not the initial expectations of the film’s creators and sponsors have been met. more...
“Stymied” Film Viewers of Unnatural Causes Receive New Recommendations From California Newsreel
Reporting that many of its film viewers are stymied or feeling paralyzed by the question of what to do next after seeing the film and becoming motivated to address social causes of ill health, California Newsreel, the producers of the film, have taken the step of issuing a set of new recommendations for those seeking to address health equity and social determinants of health: more...
Alameda County “Life and Death From Unnatural Causes” Report Provides A Model Blueprint For Policy Action On Social Determinants of Health
The challenges associated with achieving changes in social policy to reduce health inequities have been well articulated and clearly presented in a very readable report from the Alameda County Public Health Department. Released to coincide with the launch of the film “Unnatural Causes” last year, the report, entitled “Life and Death From Unnatural Causes”, candidly and succinctly makes the case for the importance of social factors in health and identifies guiding principles for action and specific policy areas that need to change, at least for Alameda County. more...
New CDC Resource Book Created To Help Communities Address Social Determinants of Health
In another sign of the extraordinary challenges facing those who seek to bring about social change for health, the CDC has recently published a a book to guide interested persons and advocates. Entitled “Promoting Health Equity—A Resource To Help Communities Address Social Determinants of Health”, the new hundred+ page handbook presents nine case studies of small and large scale program and policy initiatives which have tackled social determinants and then presents a multi-step approach to creating an effective social determinants intervention or program. more...
Conversation With “Unnatural Causes” Filmmaker Larry Adelman Reveals Satisfaction With Response To The Film
According to Larry Adelman, executive producer of “Unnatural Causes” the metrics he and his colleagues have used to gauge the success of the “Unnatural Causes” film have been far exceeded. He said that initially the creators of the film hoped to obtain 10,000 verifiable events held in association with screenings of the film over 24 months or 5,000 per year. In fact, the producers were able to count 15,000 events in the first 12 months of the film’s release, a threefold greater number than projected. more...
Harvard Researchers Also Tackle The Challenge Of Moving Knowledge About Health Inequities Into Action
An academic group has taken on the challenge of providing guidance to advocates about how best to make use of information about social determinants of health to make a difference in health outcomes. In a new May 2009 report entitled “Getting Under the Skin---Using Knowledge About Health Inequities to Spur Action”, two scholars from the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice have focused on the risks of living in “neighborhoods of concentrated disadvantage”. more...
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