Dr Samuel Animates

oo interesting

Taylor percussion hammer, with a triangular rubber head on a metal handle

Are there any medical professionals out there with any strong opinions on the Taylor reflex hammer? Or is it a totally mundane object in the profession?

Working on a research project and casting a wide net to catch some details I might otherwise miss

#medsky #nursesky #pediatrics #publichealth

How to Test Generative AI Tools for Health Communication: Step-by-Step Evaluation Guide Test generative AI tools for health communication with a simple systematic approach. Measure performance, track failures, and build evidence for your decisions.

Folks in health communication are getting pressure to use AI tools. But how do you know if they work?

I made a practical testing guide: run 25 tests, track failures, calculate error rates, document everything.

No data science background needed.

Feeds: #commsky 🛟 🧪 #PhDsky

P.S. You should still tailor these messages to your audience and context. (i.e. I do not recommend just sending people to the PHCC website to answer their questions).

Trending - Public Health Communications Collaborative Knowing what health information is trending can help you generate and deliver fact-based, effective, and timely public health communications in your

I've enjoyed learning about the Public Health Communication Collaborative through their ambassador program. They're committed to science-backed resources about vaccines, infectious disease, etc. Their materials are a great professional resource: publichealthcollaborative.org/trending/
🛟🩺💉😷

reposting for feeds: tenure-track assistant professor position in epidemiology at U Minnesota.

#academicsky #phdsky #episky #publichealth

MPH Recruiting

via LinkedIn, job posting list targeting recent MPH grads: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Mix of biotech, research, state public health

YouTube video by Dr Samuel Animates koi loop #animation #art #relax #blue #handmade

this short hand-drawn koi loop has been sitting in my youtube drafts so long i can't remember why

so I figured I'd finally share it www.youtube.com/shorts/dtpeZ...

#animation #art

Spritesheet of 8 frames of a black and white pixel art mascara wand entering the tube.

Trying my hand at monochrome pixel art for a new hobby project and it's an interesting mix of tedious, meditative, and fun

YouTube video by samuelAnimates Beach sounds & Lofi Beats to Work and Contemplate Quitting for 90 Minutes

youtu.be/gBDPk5euxwI?...

YouTube video by samuelAnimates 90 Minutes of Lo-Fi Beats to Clean to as a Way to Procrastinate

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEok...

I tend to to just post things related to my health research and health communication work. but I have wanted a change of pace lately so here's a thread of my lo-fi background videos I use as an outlet for the psychedelic animation loops I like to make

#art #animation

YouTube video by samuelAnimates 1 hour of corporate bg music and dumpster fire to cozy up to while working cuz everythings beautiful

I still like to find time to play around with visual art and animation loops... just very very slowly and spradically. Sometimes it takes a year to get around to finishing one. This has aligned well with having fun with lo-fi/bg study music videos, so here's a dumpster fire

youtu.be/2WxXAyb61O4

Our recommendation: Use word length, syllable counts, etc. instead of readability formulas. They still work as goalposts for streamlined writing.

Redo your analysis with different preprocessing decisions.

Test your content with your actual audience. Numbers alone won't tell you if it works.

Results: every preprocessing choice gave significantly different median estimates. Linear regression showed baseline estimates weren’t able to predict this variation.

Methods: We manually counted words, sentences, and syllables in 100 tweets from state health agencies (2012-2022). Then we calculated SMOG and Flesch-Kincaid reading grade levels 8 different ways - sometimes counting URLs, hashtags, and numbers, sometimes not. Then we compared the results.

Goal: to show people in public health how much text preprocessing matters, even if you are using readability formulas by hand. Do you count hashtags as words? URLs? If so, how? These are text preprocessing decisions that change word counts and syllable counts that readability formulas rely on.

Problem: Readability formulas promise simple scores to tell us if our writing is clear enough. But using them requires lots of choices that cause results to vary. In NLP, this is called text "preprocessing". In public health, this is ignored in favor of a focus on "errors" in computer calculations.

Readability scores don't just vary due to "error", they vary due to context-specific decisions. The example text reads: "The deluge in new cases is fueling a sharp rise in #COVID19 hospitalizations. as of this morning, there were 276 virus-stricken patients in our state's hospitals. Thats a 39% increase over the past week and a 109% increase since 3/17" The hashtag is highlighted an annotated with the question, "Count as a 4-syllable word? Count at all?" The date is highlighted and annotated with the question, "Count as a 1-syllable word and 3-syllable word? Count as "March 17"? Count at all?"

New paper out! We studied how different ways to count words can changes reading grade level estimates. Bottom line: Don't take reading grade estimates at face value. AND show your work when you do them! More info in thread below.

Feeds: #commsky 🛟 🧪 #PhDsky
Link: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/MGCTE...

This aligns with my usual refrain: generative AI tools might address 1 problem while causing others. This ripple effect is not part of the conversation with these tools already incorporated into electronic health records, emerging tech tools for sci comm, and in smaller public health departments

In short: If you use these tools to generate drafts, you'll have to go back and edit for readability, accuracy, and actionability. If you use these tools to edit for readability, you'll still have to edit for accuracy and actionability.

AI Tools for Health Materials: A Research-Based Guide for Health Professionals Can ChatGPT write good patient education? I analyzed the research. Three key findings every health professional should know.

Just posted a new research review on AI tools for health communiocation. Can ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini actually help health professionals create better patient education? My usual refrain: these tools are not the cure-alls the companies selling them want you to believe

#MedSky 🛟🧪 #episky #commsky

Ooo thanks! That looks super helpful

Do you have any orgs/resources on getting started with media training?

Digital Safety Kit for Public Health | Resources | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Prepared by Samuel Mendez

Excellent point, thanks! Media training is not my expertise, but related to this point is a digital safety toolkit I created. Helpful to do some of this prep work before really trying to grab the mic

hsph.harvard.edu/research/hea...

Summary graphic for these steps to tell your public health story

Traditional media like a local newspaper are some solid options. But it's also clear we need to expand beyond that. For example, if the key issue impacts children, identify newsletters from parent teacher organizations who could feature your story.

6.) Share with the community. Identify media outlets or partners who can help get out your message. This could include posting on your own channels like a blog, newsletter, or social media
accounts. Developing a communications plan to outline the right channels and partners to amplify the story.

Op-Ed Writing: The Basics — The OpEd Project

Sidenote: I used Op-Ed Project resources to write and pitch and publish pieces in the past. I recommend their approach: www.theopedproject.org/resources

5.) Write your piece. Once you have identified your people
and story, start writing. Consider
starting with the big picture—what is public health and
why does it matter—and then connecting that mission
to your local issues and community