| Abstract |
Introduction: Disease, as an inseparable part of human life, has always inspired the fine arts. Cinema, like any other art form, hasbeen inspired by themes of medicine and among them infectious diseases. The collective dimensions of infectious diseases and the way they spread have generated a small subgenre of films concerning epidemics. This study aims to document the infectioncontrol measures used to prevent transmission of epidemics, as they are presented in the movies and to further examine whether there is scientific accuracy in the way they are presented in order to further acknowledge educational importance to the information communicated to the public.
Methods:We conducted a systematic content analysis in order to document data and to make inferences. Content analysis allows both qualitive and quantitative research. Our primary sources of data were films with epidemics and their prevention in the center of the film story. A systemic movie search was conducted using the online Internet Movie Databaseto identify movies, using the key words: epidemic and infection, epidemic and disease,epidemic and virus. We excluded: television series, short films, documentaries, films with production year before 1950 and also non-English speaking films. For the remaining titles, the film summary was read and trailers were watched in order to identify those films with epidemics and their prevention in the center of the film story.Thirteen films with epidemics and their prevention in the center of the story, were included in the corpus of the study.Films were watched systematically, in full length, and data regarding infection control measures to prevent transmission of epidemics were documented and grouped into pre-defined categories. Results: Thirteen films with epidemics and their prevention in the center of the story, were included in the corpus of the study. Three categories were used to group the infection control measures for the prevention of epidemics: (1) measures for the pathogen identification, (2) nonpharmaceutical interventions for containing epidemics, these measures can be further subgrouped in (2a) public health interventions (2b) personal protective measures, (3) pharmaceutical interventions. The movies of this study represent a number of measures that belong to all three categories. The pathogen is identified in ten films. Half of those are true pathogens that have caused true epidemics while the other half refers to fictional microbes. The mode of transmission is mentioned in all but one films, with most common mode being airborne transmission. Of nonpharmaceutical interventions the ones represented with highest frequency are personal protective equipment and hand hygiene which belong in the personal protective measures subgroup, followed by the public health interventions of quarantine, presence of health care institutions, dead bodies’ disposal and isolation of affected individuals. Passive and active immunization in the form of serum or vaccine respectively are the most common pharmaceutical interventions recorded.
Conclusion:The results of this study suggest that infection control measures, used to prevent transmission of epidemics, are represented in films systemically and with certain scientific accuracy. The measures that appear on film are in accordance with the biomedical literature and the existing guidelines on the management of epidemics. Films manage to stress out the importance of infection prevention and treatment as well as the implication of each person individually and of the society as a hole, in infection control. The art of cinema plays an invaluable role, as a source of information, regarding our way of understanding, experiencing and managing epidemics.
|
Search
