A few weeks ago, a woman with a rare condition took her own life after her local newspaper, the Tampa Bay Times, ran a feature about her online. Though she was intimately involved with the interview and editing process, having her story exposed to the world may have proved too much for her to handle. I was heartbroken for the woman, but felt terrible for the reporter and editorial team who worked to share the woman's story in an honest article written to emit empathy. Instead, the article was slandered as filth and accusatory by the public. (It wasn't.) Makovsky Health's vision is to be the go-to communications people for any healthcare organization with unusual, interesting and important brands. As such, we're often asked to design public relations programs to help shed light on rare diseases, some that have symptoms that can be embarrassing or taboo. Nevertheless, it is our job to create that dialogue. As healthcare communicators, we must remember that we are dealing with people who have feelings and emotions. Not patients, not clinical trial participant numbers, people. The people who share their stories are brave, and share very private glimpses of their life with people who often do not fully understand. Communicating in the healthcare space means not only talking about a disease or raising awareness, but doing so with compassion, understanding and a deep concern for how it may be perceived. Visit our blog for updates and more information on Health PR.
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