One of the challenges of messaging for a community health clinic is striking the right balance of disseminating correct information without needlessly alarming people — or further stigmatizing marginalized groups. Enter…monkeypox and Los Angeles which is always a hotbed of activity.
When it comes to monkeypox, my go-to health resource will be, of course, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. But when it comes to graphics, I need something a bit more than what I have been seeing. It is time to create my own bit of video, using their information. So now I am using this blog post to create a script to add into a Lumen5 video to-be. Stay tuned.
This information below is from the Los Angeles County Health Department
1. What is monkeypox and how does it spread?
Monkeypox is a disease caused by infection with monkeypox virus.
Monkeypox can spread when a person has close contact with a person infected with monkeypox virus or when a person comes in contact with materials (e.g., bedding, towels) that are contaminated with the virus.
Symptom onset ranges from 5-21 days.
The monkeypox virus can spread by:
- Touching monkeypox lesions on a person’s skin
- Touching contaminated objects, fabrics (clothing, bedding, towels), and surfaces that have been in contact with someone with monkeypox
- Coming into contact with respiratory droplets or secretions from the eyes, nose and mouth from a person with monkeypox
2. What does monkeypox look like and what are the symptoms?
Early signs may include fever, muscle aches, headache, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion, and sometimes cough or sore throat. A rash may develop often beginning on the face and spreads to other parts of the body.
3. Steps to help prevent monkeypox include:
Avoid contact with materials, like bedding, that has been in contact with a sick person infected with this virus
Keep infected patients away from others
Wash hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer after contact with infected humans.
There is a vaccine that can prevent monkeypox and can be used, under certain circumstances, for the protection of people who are at high risk of exposure to this disease. If you have concerns about monkeypox exposure, please speak to your provider. If you do not have a regular provider, call 2-1-1 for assistance. In addition, people that have developed a rash can access services at Public Health’s Sexual Health Clinics.
For more information relating to monkeypox, visit publichealth.lacounty.gov/monkeypox
UPDATE: Using Lumen5 and the above “script” from Los Angeles County ‘s website to generate text, Lumen5’s AI did indeed generate a video. However, it did put forward a video with traditionally ominous scary music that I replaced with more gentle music. We have all had enough of scary background music!
Still, there something wasn’t quite right with this messaging either. Somehow the AI made monkeypox too much about touching clothes and bedding — which is almost as scary a public threat as bad, vague messaging is. Sigh. Back to the drawing board.
Update: I conquered the AI and inserted the key notes. Somehow it had omitted the fact that monkeypox was transmitted by direct contact of lesions/sores. You can see how that version of the video could be kind of frightening. Here is the finished the product — with a watermark because it is free and a lower resolution than I might like…but then it was free, while I was testing it out. It was a rather nifty tool to have in the toolbox.