264 - Preparing Pediatricians for Media Advocacy: Evaluation of the First Two Years of a Novel Media Advocacy Resident Curriculum

Publication Number: 264.6325

Vivien Sun, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States; Brandii Criss, Stanford University School of Medicine, West Menlo Park, CA, United States; Lisa Chamberlain, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States; Janine Bruce, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States; Amy Zhang, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States; Caroline Rassbach, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States

Background: Pediatric residents are frontline providers in diverse clinical settings and are well-positioned to identify and address health inequities. Media advocacy is a powerful tool to promote health equity but formal training in media advocacy is infrequently offered in residency. To bridge this gap, we developed a novel 2-week media advocacy curriculum training residents to craft, deliver, and promote accurate child health-related media messages.

Objective: To assess the immediate and remote impact of a 2-week media advocacy curriculum on pediatric residents’ self-perceived media communication skills and attitudes towards media advocacy–evaluating before, upon completion, and 6 months later.

Design/Methods: Pediatric residents who completed the media advocacy curriculum between March 2022 and July 2024 were invited to complete anonymous linked surveys at the following times: 1. Prior to rotation, 2. Immediate post-rotation, 3. 6 months post-rotation. The surveys, designed by literature review and expert consensus, asked respondents to rate their confidence with media advocacy skills (8 items) and attitudes toward involvement in media advocacy (6 items), both utilizing 5-point Likert scales. Responses were summarized using descriptive statistics and compared with repeated measures ANOVA or paired t-tests. The study was IRB approved.

Results: Of 49 pediatric residents who completed the media advocacy rotation, 46 completed the initial survey (94%), 34 completed the immediate post-rotation survey (69%), and 16 completed the 6-month post survey (32%). At baseline, most respondents had read a child health-related Op-Ed (83%), Twitter post (78%), or other social media platform post (83%), but few had written a child health-related Op-Ed (24%), Twitter post (26%), or other social media platform post (13%) (Table 1). Following the media advocacy rotation, respondents reported statistically significant increases in confidence in all 8 media skills both immediately post-rotation and 6 months post-rotation (Table 2). Respondents’ attitudes demonstrated a strong recognition of the importance of physicians engaging in media advocacy both before, immediately post, and 6 months post-rotation (Table 3).

Conclusion(s): Prior to an advocacy rotation, most pediatric residents had experience reading child-health related media messages but few had experience writing them. Residents who completed a novel 2-week media advocacy rotation reported increased confidence in media advocacy post rotation that persisted for 6 months. Future studies will further characterize the resident Op-Ed and social media projects during their rotation.

Table 1. Baseline demographics and media advocacy experience of respondents.
PAS Media Advocacy Table 1.pdf

Table 2. Self-perceived confidence in advocacy skills at baseline and follow-up among those who completed surveys at all timepoints (n=16).
PAS Media Advocacy Table 2.pdf

Table 3. Perspectives on media advocacy at baseline and follow-up surveys among those who completed surveys at all three time points (n=16).
PAS Media Advocacy Table 3.pdf