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Media Releases
MARRTC Participates in White House Conference on Aging
Columbia, Mo. (July 29, 2005) - When it comes to covering aging and disability, most of today's media use all-too-familiar themes such as "being old and/or disabled is either tragic or heroic." The problem of public awareness and media coverage of these issues was on the agenda at the White House Conference on Aging in Washington, D.C., July 21 and 22 organized by the Department of Labor. Called "Disability & Aging: Seeking Solutions to Improve Health, Productivity and Community Living," the conference focused on ways to improve policies related to aging and disability, as well as on ways to increase productive and healthy aging in years to come.
Margaret Duffy, a principal investigator for the Missouri Arthritis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center and chair of the Advertising Department of the Missouri School of Journalism, spoke on the issue of positive messaging and how to assist journalists, researchers, physicians, and policy makers communicate effectively and better inform larger audiences.
"The media often don't address issues related to aging and in part because researchers and doctors aren't sure how to provide journalists with the facts and story ideas they need," Duffy said. "As a result, insufficient or skewed coverage may affect perceptions among media consumers and consequently national policy."
According to Duffy, strategies for improving the scope and quality of medical and scientific media coverage have been very effective for MARRTC. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research MARRTC, in association with the Missouri School of Journalism, is a leader in how disability and aging issues should be covered. Among other things, MARRTC works with journalists to improve awareness about and coverage of arthritis and arthritis-related disability. For more information, go to www.marrtc.org.
The Missouri Arthritis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (MARRTC) was established in 1971 at the University of Missouri-Columbia Arthritis Center. MARRTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (H133B031120) and is the only federally funded arthritis rehabilitation research and training center in the country.
As part of the MU Health Communication Research Center (HCRC), MARRTC's mission is to become a national leader in the areas of disability management and communication, improve the quality of life and promote independent living among people who have arthritis and arthritic conditions.
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