Effects of humorous interventions on the willingness to donate organs: a quasi-experimental study in the context of medical cabaret

Heitland L, von Hirschhausen E, Fischer F. Effects of humorous interventions on the willingness to donate organs: a quasi-experimental study in the context of medical cabaret. BMC public health. 2020;20(1): 288.BACKGROUND: It has been shown that fears and misconceptions negatively affect the willingness to donate organs. Empirical studies have examined health communication strategies that serve to debunk these fears. There are promising indications that humor has the potential to influence health-related attitudes and behaviors. This study examines empirically whether medical cabaret, as a specific format for delivering health-related information in a humorous way, affects the willingness to donate organs.; METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was conducted among the audience of a medical cabaret live show. Participants in two intervention groups and one control group were interviewed just before the start of the live show (t0) and about 6 weeks later (t1). Intervention group 1 (I1) witnessed a ten-minute sequence by the cabaret artist about organ donation. Participants in I2 witnessed the sequence and, in addition, received an organ donor card. Descriptive statistics and t-tests were used to investigate changes in attitudes and the willingness to donate organs from t0 to t1.; RESULTS: A significant increase in the willingness to donate organs and an improvement in general attitude was observed in the intervention groups. Moreover, significantly more participants in I2 carried an organ donor card after the intervention. Some fears could be reduced, while understanding of the reasons for organ donation could be increased via the intervention.; CONCLUSIONS: The study confirms that medical cabaret is able to affect respondents' attitudes and behaviors even in the context of organ donation. Medical cabaret can enhance the willingness to donate organs and dispel negative concerns

Strategiepapier #3 zu den Empfehlungen des Nationalen Aktionsplans. Den Umgang mit Gesundheitsinformationen in den Medien erleichtern

Hurrelmann K, Schmidt-Kaehler S, von Hirschhausen E, Betsch C, Schaeffer D. Strategiepapier #3 zu den Empfehlungen des Nationalen Aktionsplans. Den Umgang mit Gesundheitsinformationen in den Medien erleichtern. Berlin: Nationaler Aktionsplan Gesundheitskompetenz; 2019

Was das Unterhaltungsfernsehen zur Vermittlung von medizinischem Wissen an Studierende und Laien beitragen kann – Sensibilisierung für seltene Erkrankungen

People with complex and rare diseases often have a difficult time in our health system. It can take years to reach a diagnosis and there is often no suitable therapy. Rare diseases are anything but rare among patients: around 4 million people are affected in Germany alone. Nevertheless, rare diseases can often only be diagnosed when they are well enough known and the population is made aware of their existence-this applies to both laypeople and medical professionals. The rather unusual form of imparting knowledge via entertainment television can make an important contribution to disseminate medical knowledge and to raise awareness of medical topics. In specific cases, entertainment television can help to diagnose rare diseases or encourage laypeople to take lifesaving measures, which we try to illustrate in this paper.Series and quiz shows reach more viewers than traditional health programs. They have also proven to be exceptionally effective in student teaching. Since the narrative form focuses on cheering and guessing, instead of simply conveying facts, the medical topics become more emotionally anchored memories and easier to recall. Entertainment television thus offers an innovative approach to increase the health literacy of the population-a potential that could be used more intensively in Germany

Medizinisches Kabarett als Instrument der Gesundheitskommunikation

Völzke C, von Hirschhausen E, Fischer F. Medizinisches Kabarett als Instrument der Gesundheitskommunikation. Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung. 2016;12(2):91-95

Effekte von medizinischem Kabarett auf Partizipationspräferenzen und Informationsbedürfnisse

Aust V, von Hirschhausen E, Fischer F. Effekte von medizinischem Kabarett auf Partizipationspräferenzen und Informationsbedürfnisse. Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung. 2018;14(2):154-160

Increasing the willingness to participate in organ donation through humorous health communication: (Quasi-) experimental evidence

Increasing people’s willingness to donate organs after their death requires effective communication strategies. In two preregistered studies, we assessed whether humorous entertainment education formats on organ donation elicit positive effects on knowledge, fears, attitudes, and behavioral intentions–both immediately after the treatment and four weeks later. We test whether perceived funniness mediates expected effects on attitudes and intentions. Study 1 is a quasi-experiment which uses a live medical comedy show (N = 3,964) as an entertainment education format, which either contained or did not contain information about organ donation. Study 2, a lab experiment, tests humor’s causal effect in a pre-post design with a control group (N = 144) in which the same content was provided in either a humorous or non-humorous way in an audio podcast. Results showed that humorous interventions per se were not more effective than neutral information, but that informing people about organ donation in general increased donation intentions, attitudes, and knowledge. However, humorous interventions were especially effective in reducing fears related to organ donation. The findings are discussed regarding the opportunities for sensitive health communication through entertainment education formats, psychological processes that humor triggers, and humor’s role in health communication formats.Peer Reviewe

Report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change: implications for the mental health policy of children and adolescents in Europe—a scoping review

Climate change is a worldwide challenge. Its consequences do encompass severe threats not only for the existence and somatic health, but also for the mental health of children and adolescents. Mental health can be impaired by three types of consequences. Direct consequences of climate change, such as natural disasters and indirect consequences, such as loss of land, flight and migration, exposure to violence, change of social, ecological, economic or cultural environment. Moreover, the increasing awareness of the existential dimension of climate change in children and adolescents can influence their well-being or challenge their mental health. Consequences of climate change for somatic health may interact with mental health or have psychological sequelae in children and adolescents. Based on the estimates by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we have summarized current data on these differential pathways as to how climate change affects the mental health of children worldwide through selective literature research on Pubmed. Mental health sequelae of direct and indirect consequences of climate change, increased awareness and physical health problems caused by climate change are presented. We give insights into special vulnerabilities of children and adolescents and identify high-risk groups. As the 'Fridays for Future' movement has been initiated in northern Europe, we will discuss these results with a focus on children and adolescents in Europe. The results indicate that climate change is a serious threat to children and adolescent mental health. Children´s rights, mental health and climate change should not continue to be seen as separate points; instead, they need to be brought together to address this major challenge determining the future of our children and their descendants

GET.HAPPY - Acceptance of an internet-based self-management positive psychology intervention for adult primary care patients with mild and moderate depression or dysthymia: A pilot study

Introduction: A growing number of internet interventions have been shown to help in alleviating symptoms of depression. So far, only little research has focused on other methods than CBT. The present study aimed to investigate the level of satisfaction with a positive psychology online training among patients with mild and moderate depression or dysthymia. Secondary outcome measures included changes in symptom severity, health related quality of life, and negative effects. Methods: A total of 81 participants were allocated to the intervention. They were asked to complete online questionnaires and were called by one of the study psychologists at baseline, at post-treatment, and at follow-up (3 months after completion of the intervention). Shorter questionnaires were administered after each module. Results: Overall satisfaction was promising. While participants seemed to be very satisfied with many aspects of the program itself, they were slightly less satisfied with its impact on the problems they sought to solve. Overall, negative effects attributed to the program were small with one exception. At post-treatment, 22.6% of the participants felt that they or their problems were not taken seriously by the program. Symptom severity decreased over time with mild to moderate effect sizes. There was a moderate increase in satisfaction with mental health at both post-treatment and follow-up. Conclusions: The online program investigated here may be a useful resource-oriented addition to the standard treatment of depression. Keywords: Depression, Positive psychology, Internet interventio

Kommunikation über fehlende Evidenz in Schul- und Alternativmedizin. Welchen Beitrag kann das medizinische Kabarett leisten?

Aust V, Fischer F, von Hirschhausen E. Kommunikation über fehlende Evidenz in Schul- und Alternativmedizin. Welchen Beitrag kann das medizinische Kabarett leisten? In: Stehr P, Heinemeier D, Rossmann C, eds. Evidenzinformierte - Evidenzbasierte Gesundheitskommunikation. Baden-Baden: Nomos; 2018: 241-252