Print

Mail

wiki links

Seminar exposes SARS issues and difficulties

"The media is very important to us."

Dr Ho Mei-shang, SARS expert

Mixed feelings about experiences with the media, together with a negative evaluation of the government's performance during the SARS battle, were expressed yesterday during the seminar "Experiences and Review of Involvement of the Public Health Field in the Prevention of SARS."

"The media is very important to us," said Dr Ho Mei-shang (何美鄉), an Academia Sinica educator and a SARS expert. "The other shadow cast by the epidemic's development is rumor, and rumor always walks hand-in-hand with the media. In the public health textbooks, however, there was no advice on how to handle the media."

Ho pointed out that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US had a special rumor-clearing department, which dealt with the media. She said that the Taiwanese public health, however, did not touch upon its relationship with the media.

Professor King Chwan-chuen (金傳春), a professor at National Taiwan University's Department of Public Health, was not satisfied with the media reports during the epidemic, for the media tended to exaggerate the bad side.

Chin, however, still acknowledged the importance of the media and offered a few directions. She hoped that, in the short term, the media could focus more on delivering correct reports and highlight health education, rather than sensationalizing stories. In the long term, she hoped that the media could train professional medical reporters.

Director of Yilan County Bureau of Health Ho Ping-sheng (何秉聖), on the other hand, was satisfied with the media's cooperation.

Ho said that when Yilan county had its first reported case, the reporters all wanted to rush into the hospital. But he told them to wait because the hospital had not been disinfected yet, and promised to provide information as soon as possible.

The media was satisfied with the arrangement and refrained from charging into the hospital. The Bureau was relieved not to have the reporters running around in the building while it was possible to contract the disease. Both sides were happy and trusted the other party.

At the same time, criticism was aimed at the government

"The government was way too slow. When the epidemic first started abroad, we should have reacted immediately," said Chang Po-ya (張博雅), former director of the Department of Health.
This story has been viewed 1983 times.