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| NRHM amplifies Swine Flu scare | | Ambiguous advertisement adds to peoples' dilemma | | Abodh Sharma
Early Times Report
jammu, Feb 25: At a time when deadly H1N1 has gripped the state and people are in the state of panic over increasing cases of swine flu, an advertisement issued by the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) Jammu and Kashmir has further exaggerated the apprehensions and confusion for the people who are pouring in at the Government Medical College Hospital with apprehensions of deadly Swine flu.
Though late, the advertisement was issued with a pertinent motive of helping people differentiate between common flu and fatal Swine Flu; but lack of objectivity in representation of facts has increased the confusion rather than setting them at rest. The advertisement carried a table comparing symptoms including cough, aches, sneezing, chest discomfort etc. as seen during common cold, seasonal flu and Swine Flu, but the elucidation is so ambiguous and vague that even educated people can confuse between the three conditions, triggering panic.
"Take for example coughing- according to the advertisement, non productive cough is present in both seasonal flu and common flu, so how should one differentiate?" asked Kuldip Khajuria, a local who came to GMC with symptoms that hinted at Swine flu. "Similarly, according to the advertisement, aches are moderate in seasonal flu and severe in swine flu. what is the yardstick for measuring the severity? He added pointing at more ambiguity. Kuldip's concerns were echoed by several others who rued lack of clarity in the advertisement. "This is the season when winter is phasing out and seasonal flu is pretty common at this time of the year, but the total lack of objectivity in the advertisement published by National Rural Health Mission is likely to create more panic as the department has failed to make simple and lucid distinctions that could help the people understand their condition and not get frightened. "The Department could have been more pragmatic in designing the advertisement" agreed a senior doctor at the GMCH, pleading not to be named. "A simple explanation of the symptoms would have been a better idea rather than an elaborate comparison which has actually amplified confusion in the minds of people who are already in the state of panic" he added. |
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