Consumer Health:
Activities and Projects

Introductory/Motivational

• Conduct a dramatization of a quack in action without revealing to students that the individual is a fake. Introduce the demonstrator with an extensive buildup of his or her experiences and background. A local health professional may be willing to participate. Follow with a discussion of "How to recognize a quack."
• Prepare a series of slides from cartoons that define consumer health as covered in the text.
• Administer a self-test using the Consumer Health Decisions in Chapter 1 to determine students' needs and interests and/or to develop interest in the subject.
• Have students list and evaluate the health products and services purchased or used by themselves or members of their family. The discussion could cover the potential risks and benefits, whether the items were appropriately chosen, whether the items were appropriately priced, and the information sources relied upon.
• "What's in the news?" Select one current newspaper or magazine article about consumer health, mount article on an 81/2 x 11 sheet of paper with complete source, and be prepared to provide a one-minute oral report on the essentials in class. Articles can be placed on a bulletin board under captions relating to chapter headings.
• As the course proceeds, some of the "It's Your Decision" boxes can be used as a basis for class discussion.

1. Consumer Health Issues

• Survey at least five friends to learn whether they have been ripped-off when they purchased or used health products or services. Include the action taken and the results. Relate evidence to the caveat emptor concept.
• Ask several people about the like or dislike of physicians, dentists, or other health professionals. Compile findings in a simple statistical form and discuss the validity and usefulness of information.
• Prepare a bulletin board display of several health products that includes the estimated amount of money spent in any given year.
• Have students complete and discuss the Consumer Health I.Q. Test (Worksheet 1-1) and the Intelligent Health Consumer Profile (Worksheet 1-2 ).

2. Separating Fact from Fiction

• Audiotape one or more television or radio health programs. Identify in written form essential points, and analyze in terms of fact or fiction.
• Survey several issues of a magazine (e.g. Cosmopolitan, Prevention) or newspaper (National Enquirer, National Examiner) to determine the accuracy of health information.
• Analyze one book related to consumer health using the guidelines found in the text for determining reliable sources of consumer information.
• Record comments of friends, neighbors, or relatives about health; discuss the validity of their statements.
• Find a Web site that deals with health issues or the sale of health products and evaluate it for reliability and scientific soundness.
• Select a book that contains a great deal of inaccurate information. Discuss whether publishers of health books should have a moral or legal obligation not to publish health books that are misleading or contain dangerous advice. Discuss whether anything can be done to discourage publishers who persist in publishing such books.
• Display copies of a variety of publications useful for keeping current on health topics. IncludeFDA Consumer, Priorities for Health, Consumer Reports on Health, NCAHF Newsletter, Tufts University Diet & Nutrition Letter, and HealthNews, and the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine.

3. Fraud and Quackery

• Ask students to: (a) write a definition of quackery, (b) list six products, services or practices they consider quackery, and (c) briefly describe an experience in which they were victimized or observed someone else being victimized.
• Have students review and evaluate current articles or advertisements in the tabloid newspapers using Table 3-2 on page 43 of Consumer Health.

4. Advertising and Other Marketing

• Select one health advertisement from a local newspaper or popular magazine, or audiotape a radio or TV commercial and determine whether it uses any of the techniques identified in Table 4-1 on page 49 of Consumer Health.
• Interview health professionals about the impact of professional advertising on health care and health-care costs.
• Analyze a health advertisement sent through the mail.
• Aanlyze a vidoeotape used to persuade people to become a distributor for a multilevel marketing company.
• Invite an FTC official to discuss new enforcement policy on deceptive ads or a Better Business Bureau official to discuss industry self-regulation of health advertising.
• Examine and comment on Yellow Page ads under "Physicians," "Dentists," "Nutritionists," "Acupuncturists," "Holistic Practitioners," or other health-related headings.

5. Science-Based Health Care

• Interview a physician about the type, frequency, and cost of recommended periodic health examinations given. Compare the recommendations with those of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
• Discuss an adverse report about a health professional, including the appropriateness of the disciplinary action taken.
• Invite a speaker from the 911 office to discuss emergency care and related problems.
• Invite a speaker to discuss health examinations, laboratory tests, and medical imaging procedures.

6. Mental Health Care

• Interview a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist about the nature of mental health examinations, reasons for procedures used, suggested frequency, costs, how to select a competent practitioner, and other relevant information.
• Invite a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist to class to discuss psychotherapy and questionable therapeutic procedures.
• Invite a professional to discuss the benefits and hazards of the use of biofeedback, hypnosis, marriage counseling, and other psychotherapy procedures.
• Attend an open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous or Recovery, Inc., and report on what you observe.

7. Dental Care

• Invite a dentist or dental hygienist to class to discuss dental products, dubious dentistry, prevention, and costs.
• Investigate the history of fluoridation in a local community.
• Prepare a display of self-care dental products and discuss their use.

8. "Alternative" Methods

• Locate several people who have used a chiropractor, acupuncturist, faith healer, or other "alternative" practitioner to identify the reasons for doing so. Obtain information about perceived benefits or harm.
• Invite an "alternative' practitioner to be a guest lecturer and answer questions from students. The session should not take place until Chapters 2, 3, and 8 have been covered thoroughly. Students should be advised not to criticize or argue with the speaker but focus on how the speaker knows what he or she knows. If not satisfied with an answer, students should formulate another question to get at whatever they feel was inadequate about the response. To prevent the guest lectureship from being used for marketing purposes, the practitioner should sign a written promise not to publicize it in any way.

9. Self-Care

• Prepare a checklist of individual health promotion procedures identified in the text and have students complete it anonymously. Collect the forms, mix them up, and redistribute them so that the class can be polled for discussion.
• Invite a speaker to discuss such topics as self-diagnosis and self care, when to consult a physician, and one self-help group.
• Compute the money that can be saved if a 2-pack-a-day smoker quits for a year.
• Create vignettes of people with symptoms and have students discuss what the people should do. The process would be facilitated if self-help books containing flow charts were on reserve at the college library.

10. Health-Care Facilities

• Identify the licensing procedures and standards for hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics in your state. Include reference to quality care.
• Visit a nursing home or hospital and obtain information about personnel, services, costs, and quality of care.
• Evaluate a hospital or nursing home using the guidelines for selection in the text.

11. Basic Nutrition Concepts

• Have students use dietary analysis software to evaluate their own diet over a period of several days.
• Have students evaluate the reliability of a nutrition-related book.

12. Nutrition Fads, Fallacies, and Scams

• Ask health-food store salespeople about several products and the evidence said to substantiate their use. Describe and evaluate the replies.
• Invite a nutrition expert to class to discuss food faddism.
• Have students analyze a book or magazine that contains unreliable nutrition information or promotes faddism.
• Have students report on their personal use of dietary supplements, including the types of products, dosage, reasons for use, and apparent benefits or adverse effects. Students can also question others and report their findings.
• Analyze several supplement advertisements for accuracy.
• Survey supplement products in a pharmacy, supermarket, or health-food store to see whether any contain or should contain a warning label.

13. Weight Control

• Visit one or more weight-control clinics to collect information about their services.
• Review and analyze a popular weight-control book.
• Interview several people about their experiences in trying to lose weight. An articulate person with a long-term weight problem who has tried a large number of methods might be a good guest speaker.
• Make before-and-after measurements on someone who has used the services of a body wrapping salon.

14. Exercise Concepts, Products, and Services

• Invite an expert to discuss exercise values and development of an individual program.
• Demonstrate the various types of exercise.
• Have students complete reports on the values of exercise as they relate to heart disease, tension reduction, weight control, and rehabilitation.
• Have students research the literature about the hazards of exercise.
• Have students identify their present exercise program and write a proposal for improvement.
• Survey students about the exercise equipment used, including purposes. Compare information with types, purposes, and benefits of exercise.
• Visit one or more health clubs or exercise centers to observe types of activities, care of equipment, personnel, costs of services, and tactics to encourage membership.
• Critique an infomercial for an item of exercise equipment.

15. Cardiovascular Diseases

• Ask students to have their cholesterol levels checked and to determine whether any corrective action is needed.
• Have students compare their own dietary patterns to cholesterol-control guidelines and identify ways to modify their behavior.
• Students identify the percentages of fats and cholesterol in diet and make comparisons with recommended daily intakes.
• Invite a speaker to discuss the American Heart Association's heart-healthy recommendations.
• Display blood pressure instruments and demonstrate use.
• Prepare a checklist of nondrug treatment for mild hypertension for student use in analysis of own behavior.

16. Arthritis and Related Disorders

• Have students report on the effectiveness of scientific and nonscientific treatments discussed in scientific journals.
• Review a book that contains unreliable information about arthritis.
• Interview several people who have used unproven therapy to discover the reasons for their actions and the apparent results.
• Invite a speaker from the Arthritis Foundation to discuss scientific and unproven treatments for arthritis and cancer. Someone with a long-term arthritis problem who has tried a large number of unproven methods could also be invited.

17. Cancer

• Have students report on the effectiveness of scientific and nonscientific/unorthodox treatments discussed in scientific journals.
• Review a book that contains unreliable information about cancer.
• Interview several people who have used questionable therapy to discover the reasons for their actions.
• Invite an oncologist or a speaker from the American Cancer Society to discuss scientific and questionable treatments for cancer.

18. AIDS

• Have students talk with a health department official and report on that person's perspective of AIDS in the community.
• Invite someone with AIDS to discuss his or her situation with the class.
• Have students pose questions to an AIDS information service and discuss the accuracy of the answers.

19. Drug Products

• Select one OTC product used by self or a family member and discuss its justification for use, ingredients, claims of effectiveness, benefits, hazards, cost, alternatives, and source of information on using the product.
• Survey several drugstores (including Internet outlets) to compare prices of aspirin or other drug products.
• Analyze several TV drug commercials for truthfulness and accuracy of information.
• Invite a pharmacist to class to discuss the licensing and training of pharmacists and ways they help consumers.

20. Skin Care and Beauty Aids

• Analyze advertisements of hair restorations to determine accuracy of claims.
• Have students keep track of their expenditures for cosmetic products.
• Visit a salon that uses tanning booths and obtain information on services, costs, safety, and qualifications of personnel.

21. Especially for Women

• Invite an expert to display and discuss the types, effectiveness, and risk of contraceptive products.

22. Health Devices

• Survey the cost of eyeglasses and/or hearing aids from several sources and discuss the reasons for the difference in prices.
• Invite an FDA speaker to discuss the provisions and workings of the Medical Device law.

23. Coping with Death

• Prepare an advance medical directive or a report explaining why such a document is not personally suitable.
• Report on the availability and organization of hospice care in the community.
• Visit a health-food store and see whether "anti-aging" claims are made for any products.
• Contact several funeral homes to obtain price information and see whether the responses comply with the FTC Funeral Rule.
• Take the entire class to visit a funeral home. If this is done, invite a speaker from a memorial society to present a contrasting approach.

24. Health Insurance

• Analyze and compare three prepaid, voluntary health insurance plans.
• Analyze the college's health insurance coverage using Table 24-6 of Consumer Health.
• Analyze a dental insurance plan in terms of costs, provisions, exclusions, and other factors.
• Interview an HMO administrator to learn the nature of services, costs, and other related matters.
• Evaluate a dread disease or other mail-order insurance policy using Table 24-6 in Consumer Health.
• Obtain opinions about the value and problems of the Canadian health insurance plan.
• Analyze several proposals for national health insurance.

25. Health Care Economics

• Have students prepare a yearly budget for themselves or their family that includes the anticipated expenditures for health products and services. Indicate the estimated percentage of total income. Identify possible ways to reduce health-related expenses.

26. Consumer Laws, Agencies, and Strategies

• Search a current telephone directory to identify, by name and services, the organizations, agencies, and individuals who may provide assistance to health consumers.
• Take action on a poor-quality or misrepresented health product or a poor or costly health service and report on the following: action taken, response or outcome, conclusions from experience, and what to do next time.
• Invite a speaker from the FDA, FTC, Postal Service, or other agency to discuss their consumer protection activities.