HCN Seminar – 25 January 2023

The next HCN seminar will take place on 25^th January 2023, 1-2pm

Location: UCL Foster Court, Room 235

Talks:

Using bodyworn cameras to reduce violence against ambulance crew: lessons from a pilot study.
Prof. Jeff Bezemer, IOE, Department of Culture, Communication and Media

Communication between paramedics and members of the public is sometimes marked by verbal abuse and aggression. It has been suggested that bodyworn cameras (BWCs) could help prevent this from happening. This talk presents the findings of a study that sought feedback from paramedics who were given access to BWCs in a recent pilot project organised by NHS Improvement on the theory that BWCs acts as a deterrent. We interviewed 10 paramedics and 6 operational staff in the first 2-11 months of the pilot. The findings point to a range of social interactional and operational factors that might mitigate the effects of the implementation of the cameras on the occurrence and management of assaults.

The challenge of tellability in pro-vaccination personal narratives in response to HPV vaccine hesitancy online
Dr. Zsófia Demjén, IOE Department of Culture, Communication and Media.

This talk focuses on personal narratives that are told on the parenting forum Mumsnet in response to hesitancy about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The HPV vaccine is recommended in over 100 countries, and has been administered to 12-13 year old girls in the UK since 2008 and to boys since 2018. Despite evidence of effectiveness in the prevention of cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases, uptake has been affected by concerns about vaccine harms, and an association between HPV infection and sexual promiscuity. Narratives have been previously found to be effective persuasive tools in addressing vaccine hesitancy, and this talk explores pro-vaccination narratives told in the 525 replies to five original posts (OPs) expressing indecision about vaccinating a daughter against HPV. The analysis reveals some of the challenges involved in producing ‘tellable’ pro-vaccination narratives, i.e. narratives that are relevant, engaging and acceptable enough to be persuasive in context. It reflects on the implications of such challenges and the ways in which they are overcome in our data.

Live stream link for those who can’t attend: https://ucl.zoom.us/j/93859215766?pwd=cldGNUhYb0JPa2RJODZGcnZITi9KQT09 (Passcode: 053572)