Fact From Fiction?

Expect more and more health-related information'including aspects of living with HIV'to show up with medical accuracy on some of your favorite TV programs. On the heels of two studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that increasing numbers of Americans gather health information from fictional shows, writers and producers are stepping up their efforts to incorporate story lines that deal accurately with HIV. In one CDC survey 52% of respondents who reported watching prime-time TV at least twice weekly said they trusted the health information they saw to be accurate, and 26% said prime-time TV was one of their top three sources of health information. Tina Hoff, director of Entertainment Media Partnerships at the Kaiser Family Foundation, which collaborates with Viacom on the Know HIV/AIDS initiative to encourage HIV-related plots in shows, says the studies have 'reinforced that you just can't ignore the role of entertainment media in people's lives.'