Medical Journal Assignment
The presentation by Mayo Clinic staff addresses the different strategies that people should embrace as a way of avoiding heart diseases. Heart diseases are among the preeminent causes of mortality cases; thus, need thorough discussion to come up with a way of combating the diseases (Mozaffarian et al., 2015). However, there should be a personal initiative from the general public as a primary way of the fight against the heart diseases. As such, the Mayo Clinic staff identified this issue and came up with different ways that can educate the public on choosing lifestyles that can help them avoid heart diseases. Although heart diseases may be on the list of the leading causes of death, the affected people should not accept this as the fate but fight through embracing the strategies reported by the staff. The report points that there are other risk factors of heart diseases such as age, sex, or family history (Mayo Clinic.2017). Although these risk factors may remain unchanged, the Mayo Clinic staff advocates for adopting a healthy lifestyle that helps mitigate the heart diseases. Among the discussed and universal strategies by Mozaffarian et al. (2015) include avoiding the use of tobacco, regular exercising, eating a healthy diet, managing stress, maintaining a healthy weight, and getting regular health screenings. The presentation by Mayo Clinic Staff would be more effective if it gave direct recommendations such as the exercise timetable and even a diet plan that the victims of heart disease would adhere to.
The target audience is the general public. As such, some of the discussed strategies only apply to some age groups, but all have an overall educative impact to all age groups. A strategy such as avoiding the use of tobacco only applies to people who are at an age that they can indulge in such an abuse and does not apply to infants. Use of tobacco causes heart diseases through the damage of the blood vessels and heart which result with atherosclerosis that risks the patient to experiencing a heart attack (Mozaffarian et al., 2015). Such a strategy also applies to specific gender such as women who are at a high risk of having an attack if they smoke and take the birth control pills. Similarly, some of the health screenings such as blood pressure are necessary to be performed in some age groups such people over 40 or older and some between the age of 18 and 39 (Mayo Clinic, 2017). However, the presentation does not address how to prevent cardio vascular diseases (CVDs) among the infants.
The information was reported accurately since all the strategies were well expounded on. As such, the target audience could easily understand the different ways explained on avoiding the heart diseases. The aim of journalism is assessing and presenting the findings in an easy way that can be clearly understood by the target audience (Altheide & Schneider, 2012). The Mayo Clinic staff presents the information in simple and understandable language. According to Hallin, and Briggs (2015) medical presentations should be objective based to be efficient in addressing the medical issues in the society. The presentation is objective based since all the explanations are based on biological concepts that cannot change. All the recommendations are based on proven research from; hence, the information is not based on the authors’ opinions. Such an example is the recommendation for the exercising time. The information is derived from Department of Health and Human Services recommendations hence the presentation is based on already approved researches which make it objective based. The common term used though out the presentation is the term “heart diseases”. This term is essential as used in this domain since it informs the target audience on the main issue addressed in the document. Moreover, it serves as a way of reminding the reader of the core reason for writing the document. As such, the reader will be eager to learn more regarding prevention of the menace that is frequently mentioned. However, the presentation does not have catchy visual audio presentations that would attract the readers’ attention hence ensuring reading to be more enjoyable. As such, the authors would use visual presentations such as pictures of different healthy food to consume or even pictures to back up the different recommendations.
Media format is highly upheld in this document whereby the information is presented systematically. The different heart diseases prevention strategies are explained step by step which makes the readers easily understand the introduced concepts. Different points are backed up with examples and further discussions which add on the overall format of the presentation. The impact of this document on the target audience is leading a healthier life and reduction of the reported cases of heart disease amongst the target audience. However, the authors would make the presentation ideal for the general public by addressing CVDs in all age groups including infants. The presentation does not utilize diagrammatic impressions hence may turn out not attractive to some readers. I would adopt the strategy of using diagrammatic impressions and give accurate data from backed-up sources. According to Altheide and Schneider (2012), the diagrammatic impressions are of the essence in easily describing the different heart diseases. On the other hand, giving data would give the target audience a focus on the real issue of heart diseases within the society hence respond efficiently.
References
Altheide, D. L., & Schneider, C. J. (2012). Qualitative media analysis (Vol. 38). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Hallin, D. C., & Briggs, C. L. (2015). Transcending the medical/media opposition in research on news coverage of health and medicine. Media, Culture & Society, 37(1), 85-100.
Mayo Clinic (2017). Heart disease prevention: Strategies to keep your heart healthy. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/heart-disease-prevention/art-20046502?pg=1
Mozaffarian, D., Benjamin, E. J., Go, A. S., Arnett, D. K., Blaha, M. J., Cushman, M., … Huffman, M. D. (2015). Executive summary. Circulation, 131(4), 434-441.
